The Boy Who Changed a Life
by kittyface27
Summary: Katakuri's life was bland and boring. Same thing every day. Missions he could care less about, a family who was much too crowded for him. But everything changes when the sweet commander decides to buy a slave. Luffy had been a handful at first, but things quickly starts to change. For the better, in Katakuri's opinion. Lots of fluff!
1. Chance Encounter

**Hey everyone. Another story with kid Luffy, but this one is in the Big Mom crew. I've done Strawhats and Whitebeard Pirates, so I decided I needed something new. I have not read or watched Whole Cake Island arc in awhile, but I did my best to keep characters and powers correct. Luffy is my interpretation of a likable child. not necessary how a five year old would act. Enough of my AN. Enjoy~**

**Update: just going to add that this story is cannon-divergent. And that not all relationships are the same as they are in the OP cannon world. **

Chapter 1

Katakuri walked through the bland and somewhat cold slave auction house, heading to the amphitheater where the slaves would be bought, bored already. His crew had asked to be allowed to go, just to see. No one was going to buy anyone, no matter how they looked. So he allowed them to go, but then they wanted him to come, too. So he agreed to go with him. He'd probably get bored just sitting on the ship by himself. They told him it'd be cool if he bought a slave.

The captain had said no, that he didn't like weak willed people, and slaves were all broken. It's not like it was their fault, but he'd want someone who could actually work without cowering or being afraid of every little thing. It seemed annoying to have to train someone to work for them while they were terrified of him.

His siblings had had slaves before, and Katakuri never saw the the appeal was. They were all terrified, and it was hard for even the ruthless Katakuri to see the brands many of them had. Even though he didn't interact with them, he hated the Celestial Dragons. They were annoying and frustrating. Just made everyone hate the government more. He had killed one before, and it felt good. No one had stood up to him because he killed all that came after him. Big wigs didn't appear. His bounty had gone up from that incident.

He sat in the too-small seats with his excited crew, not really paying attention to all of the slaves being sold. They were all the same. Scared, crying or screaming to be let go. But all of them were bought. Katakuri yawned, adjusting his scarf after it had slid down a little bit. They were on the second to last slave, who was a large man, who looked scared and was shouting about wanting to go back home to his wife and children. But, of course, no one cared, and he was sold.

What came out next was a surprise to everyone in the amphitheater. A child with cuffs and a collar came running out and onto the stage. The slave traders chased after him, shouting at him to come back, but the little boy evaded them and jumped off the stage and began to run down the isle of the seats. The collar began to beep, so Katakuri leaned to the side and easily snatched him up and held him in the air. He was quite small.

"Lemme go! I not gonna be slave anymore!" he shouted in a high voice. He couldn't be older than five years old. And he was being sold as a slave, but apparently he wasn't going to go down without fighting. Katakuri found it interesting and amusing. And impressive. A slave that hadn't been broken, and also a child. With a will like that, this boy could become someone powerful. Katakuri could see potential.

Before he could think about what he was doing, he told the man coming to get the boy that he'd buy this one. The man suddenly looked terrified when he saw who had spoken to him. He began to shake, and the room went quiet after Katakuri's words. His crew looked at him in shock. So did everyone else. Katakuri gave off a threatening and hostile burst of haki that signaled that no one look at him.

He had said he wasn't going to buy a slave, and here he bought a child. But he had done it for a future strong ally. Well, that was what he thought at the moment.

The little boy still being held up in Katakuri's massive hand squirmed. "Too high! Lemme go!" the boy cried. Katakuri hoped he behaved better when he was out of those damn cuffs and chains. And not treated like a slave. There would be no potential if the kid was treated like a slave. What did he get himself into? But only a part of him was thinking that. The rest of him could see a kid who would grow to be strong.

"Alright s- sir, you can come pick him up right now if you'd like," the man said as Katakuri lowered Luffy back to the floor. Katakuri nodded, but grabbed the man's wrist when he began to drag the boy by his small wrist.

"He belongs to me now, so you will treat him as if he were not a slave," he commanded with a threatening glare. He didn't notice the little boy looking at him in shock. The meanies who had taken him before always tried to hurt him. He didn't like those people! But he didn't want them to laugh at him if he cried. So he never cried.

"A-alright sir," the man stuttered and lifted the boy up so he was standing before grabbing his hand and walked with him. "You will behave with him. Or die," the slaver said. The boy stuck out his tongue at him.

"Captain, what were you thinking?! He's a little child!" one of the men on his crew said, earning a glare from Katakuri. But they all thought the same thing. Was it just a rash decision, or not? Katakuri never made rash decisions, so there had to be some reason. The crew waited for their captain to answer.

"There's something special about him. I see potential in him," the large man told them. Everyone looked convinced now. Katakuri had a knack for being right about future events, even if this kid wouldn't be strong for years. No one said anything about the fact that _someone _would have to raise the kid.

Katakuri walked to the back of the building to where he was to pick up his new… charge? Student? Not slave… what should he refer to him as? Well, he should call him by his name first and foremost. There were slaves being taken away on leashes when he went to the back, and he saw the little boy having his hair forcibly brushed as he tried to get them to stop.

The massive man with the scarf walked up to the boy and the slavers trying to make him look presentable. Katakuri came silently, handing the 300,000 beris to one of the sellers. He had gotten the boy for very cheap. It was a good deal compared to the price of some other slaves who were sold and bought.

Katakuri said nothing as he took the key to the boy's shackles and paperwork about him. He only said to the kid to follow him, though it wasn't as cruel as the boy thought he would sound. Luffy hurried after him, suddenly curious about this man. "What is your name?"

"I Monkey D. Luffy," Luffy replied as he tried to keep up with the man's fast walking and large steps. Luffy had to run next to him. Katakuri noticed this and slowed down considerably. He wasn't surprised that this kid was a D. considering how stubborn he was on that stage, trying not to be sold. "Who are you?" he asked. Before Katakuri replied, Luffy told him that he liked his fluffy neck blanket.

"My name is Katakuri. And it's called a 'scarf'. People wear it when they are cold," Katakuri replied. Of course, if he were cold, he wouldn't have almost all of his torso exposed.

"Koori?" Luffy asked. The man repeated his name once again. "Ka-koori?" Said man told him to call him what he was able to say.

"Where are we going, Koori?" Luffy questioned. For some reason, he thought this man wasn't going to try to hurt him. Not like the other mean people who took him.

"We are going to my ship," Katakuri answered. Luffy asked what kind of ship. "A pirate ship."

Luffy gasped, somewhat startling the man. "Like Shanks?! Shanks is my friend and I want to be a pirate like him! It sounds fun!" Luffy said very loudly. Katakuri was very surprised to see this young boy knew another Yokno, and was friends with him. Well, Shanks must be _very _different than Mama if he befriended a child like this. He wondered how Luffy had been caught.

"I'm surprised. Akagami Shanks is very powerful. And he personally met a young child?" Luffy nodded.

"He give me his hat 'cause I gonna be strong and decide to be Pirate King, but I lost it…" Luffy said very sadly. "I hope he not mad at me…"

"You shouldn't say this having to do with the words 'pirate king' anymore. It's dangerous to say such things in my family," the sweet commander said sternly.

"...Okay," Luffy said grudgingly. He didn't want to be starved anymore. It was annoying! Everyone was so mean. "Are you mean, Koori?" he asked suddenly. The man didn't know how to answer. Yes, he was mean to some people, but for some reason, he never wanted to be mean to Luffy.

"No, I will not be mean to you, Luffy," Katakuri said as they reached his ship.

"Wow! It is a pretty ship," Luffy said, mostly to himself. "I can't swim, will you help me?" he asked as he looked up at Katakuri. The man reached down and picked up Luffy by the scruff of his shirt before sitting him in his large hand. Luffy was very small, even for a five year old. The man carrying the kid walked across the plank and onto his ship. He set Luffy down, who immediately ran off and around the ship to explore it. It wasn't a massive ship, but it also wasn't small.

The little boy ran around the ship, saying hi to everyone he saw or ran past. He really was small.

"Man, captain doesn't know what he's signed up for," the second most important member on the ship said with a laugh.

By dinner time, it was quite clear that Luffy was no normal five year old. He ate three servings of food that would fill a big adult like Katakuri. The chef had to make more food for everyone else since Luffy ate so fast. He had to sit on a small crate they put on one of the spare chairs at the table.

"Hey, you wanna know something?" Luffy suddenly said after he was full.

"What is it?" one of the crew members asked. They were entertained with Luffy, and how Katakuri sighed a lot when Luffy would go zooming from room to room.

"People in snow places never sleep." The others looked at each other. That really didn't sound right, but they humored him.

"Why is that?"

"'Cause they freeze to death," he answered, taking a sip of his water.

"That doesn't sound right…"

"Nuh uh, it's the truth!" Luffy countered.

Another one of the crew spoke up, saying, "Actually, he is right if he means sleeping outside. If you sleep outside in the snow, you could freeze to death while you sleep."

"See, told you!" Luffy said with a laugh. The others chuckled, while Katakuri just looked tired. His crew already seemed attached to Luffy, who was just a ball of joy after getting his chains and collar off earlier.

After dinner, Luffy was getting sleepy. This posed a question for everybody. Where would Luffy sleep? Right after the question, everyone on the crew but two had said "not it!". So it was now between Katakuri and one of the weaker members.

Of course Katakuri won rock-paper-scissors since he could see what his opponent would use, which irritated the man, but he didn't back talk or call him out on it. He didn't feel like being punished, physically or verbally, for going against the captain.

A pile of pillows was made for Luffy on the floor of the one room that had only one person in it, since the others were in bunks in another room. Surprisingly, Luffy was not a pain when he went to sleep. He stayed asleep the whole night, thankfully. He only woke up when his temporary roommate woke up and got dressed.

Luffy gasped, surprising the other man in the room. "I sleep good last night!" he cheered. "And on pillows! Thank you!" The pirate smiled.

"You're very welcome. Let's go eat, okay?" Luffy jumped up and went running out of the room, able to remember where the kitchen was, despite being so tired last night.

Luffy was cheerful for the rest fo the day, for a long time sitting at the front of the ship and looking at the sea. It was very pretty. Whenever he was on another ship, he was always locked up, and unable to look at the ocean. He wished he could swim in it without becoming so tired and sinking. It looked fun to swim.

Katakuri came over and stood next to where he sat, his feet through the bars and gave him his lunch. Luffy looked so happy to sit there, so he let the boy eat where he was. "Where are we going, Koori?"

Katakuri leaned against the high railing. "To my home island chain. It's called Totto Land. You'll be surprised to know everything is made of food. A lot of it is made of candy. Do you like sweets?" the man asked.

"I think so. I haven't had candy in a long time, but it must be yummy. I mostly get soup, and is gross!" Luffy replied sourly. Then he changed the subject. "I wish I could swim and not fall asleep and sink."

Katakuri frowned. "Luffy, have you eaten a Devil Fruit?" he questioned. Luffy was very young to have a Devil Fruit. He wondered, if he did, what kind he would have. Probably not something too powerful. Luffy looked up at him, confused. Devil Fruit? "It's a fancy fruit with lots of swirls. It gives you powers."

"Ah! The gross thing?"

Katakuri's eyes widened a little bit. Well, that proved he had eaten one. "Yeah. Did it give you any powers?" Luffy nodded.

"I can turn bright! An no one can hurt me 'cause of it. I no fthnk other '_masters_' liked that 'cause I okay with them hurting me, though sometimes is annoying," Luffy said, sounding grumpy at the end of his reply. When he was asked if he could show it, Luffy replied that he didn't know how to work it. "But if you hit or spike me, I be okay."

Katakuri didn't particularly want to stab or hit him, but it was true he couldn't see any scars on his body even if he was once a slave. The commander took out his trident from his body and slowly poked Luffy with the tip. It went right through him, his body turning blue and crackling. Luffy had a logia type fruit?! How did he get a hold of one of those?

"That looks like lightning," he said.

"Koori is made of goo?" Luffy asked curiously.

"No, it's called mochi. It's a certain type of dessert," Katakuri sat down next to him, so much bigger than the little boy.

"You can eat yourself?!" he asked in awe. The man almost cracked a smile.

"Well, not myself specifically. I can make the dessert. Do you want to try it?" Luffy vigorously nodded his head, and watched in awe as mochi was made by Katakuri, and handed to Luffy, who ate it, though it was hard for him to chew because it was gooey. But it tasted good.

"That's yummy!" he exclaimed. "I wish I was made of food. Made of meat!"

"Luffy, you are made of meat." Luffy gasped.

"WHAAATTTT?!" Then he looked sad. "Well, I wish I was made of meat I could eat. I can't eat myself." He pouted. "I wanna be made of candy, too! Or just all food I want." He kicked his legs through the bars.

"Well, you should like your power. It's pretty powerful. No one can hurt you, and that's pretty impressive." He wondered if he sensed Luffy had a powerful Devil Fruit and that was the potential he saw in the little boy. But, with a power that could easily spark a fire, there would be no training on the ship. But that was fine; they were almost to Totto Land, and then home.

What would he tell Mama? He brought a kid back with him. How much lifespan would he lose? He found himself feeling upset that he'd have to be terrified of Big Mom. After all, even if he was brave in front of slavers and a big man like Katakuri, Mama was something else entirely. He'd never met someone who wasn't at least a little scared of her.

**Line**

Four days later, Katakuri's ship docked at Whole Cake Island, and was actually uncomfortable about people seeing Luffy with him. At least before they knew what he was doing with the commander. So he put Luffy in a pocket in his vest that was well covered with his scarf. After all, Luffy could fit in tight places. They'd found that out when the boy got trapped between a bed and the wall back on the ship.

Luffy did as he was told and stayed quiet and hidden in the pocket. Katakuri walked to one of the homes that stationed at Whole Cake Island, finding Brulee easily and asking her to go to the mirror at his place. She would be the first one to know, since he knew she wouldn't be mean to Luffy. She had always liked kids.

She was already at the house when Katakuri entered. "Is there something wrong, brother?" she asked, sounding concerned as she sat on the couch.

"I want to show you something before everyone else finds out," Katakuri said flatly, not nervous about what Brulee's reaction would be at all. But she became concerned. "Okay, Luffy, you can come out." And a little boy's head popped out of the pocket he was hiding in.

Luffy climbed out and onto Katakuri's waiting palm. Katakuri set him down on the large couch, which was sized for him, who was a lot bigger than Luffy. Brulee looked confused.

"A kid?" she asked, not understanding why he was there and why Katakuri brought him in the first place. "Why do you have a kid?!"

"I Luffy!" Luffy said, loud enough to drown out her surprised screaming questions. "Koori bought me!" Luffy explained. Brulee laughed.

"Koori, huh?" she asked. He glared at her. "So why did you buy him?" She was still shocked and watched as Luffy climbed up the couch onto the back of it. He looked around the room. It was big and there was big furniture all around it. He wasn't paying attention to either adults in the room. Instead, he leapt down from the top of the couch to the carpeted floor.

"Luffy, be careful," Katakuri said in reprimand.

"Okay!" Luffy called from behind the couch as he began to run around and explore the big room. There was a kitchen, too! But when he went up to the refrigerator, he definitely couldn't open the door himself. The handle was too high, and he wasn't the strongest five year old. He pouted, but not for long before he went back to the living room to explore.

Brulee looked at her brother like he was crazy. He had expressed concern about a young child. It was shocking. But she was still waiting for his answer.

"I see he has potential. He also has a powerful Devil Fruit," he answered, though Brulee knew her brother enough to see that was only part of the reason he took this kid to their home island without getting rid of him along the way for being an annoying child. But she didn't mention this. He would be embarrassed or get mad.

"What is it?" she asked, watching the boy climb onto the window sill and look out of the window. He gasped, seeing so much candy outside. It made him hungry.

"Lightning logia. He doesn't know how to control it, so I can try to teach him. I can see him being very powerful." Then he sighed. "How will Mama react?"

"She'll probably take some of his lifespan. When are you going to tell everyone? Do you need clothes? Furniture? Shoes?" Brulee asked, somewhat excited. Luffy wasn't Katakuri's son, but he would be staying with him for at least a little while. And Brulee was good at making clothes.

"I'll have to introduce him to Mama before the tea party, and then I can show him to everyone else there. But don't tell anyone about his Devil Fruit. Alright? And yeah, clothes and shoes would be great. His current clothes aren't exactly presentable," Katakuri finished, looking over to Luffy, who was for some reason trying to do a cartwheel. And failing, but he kept trying.

"I'll get started today for him to be presentable when you bring him to Mama." Then she looked to Luffy. "Luffy?" she asked. Luffy looked up and hurried over to them. "My name is Brulee. I'll be making you clothes and shoes. What is your favorite color?"

"Red! I like red," he told her.

"Oh, try and make him something appropriate for the tea party," Katakuri said.

"Alright, well, I need to take his measurements, too. Luffy, would you like to come with me to the mirror world?" Brulee asked.

"Yah!" and he ran to her. Brulee said goodbye to Katakuri, who was preparing himself to talk to Big Mom.

Luffy gasped as Brulee took him _through a mirror _and into a world of checkered walls and thousands of mirrors. He ran over to one and looked inside, then to another one, and another. Soon he was looking in every mirror he was tall enough to see through, announcing what he saw.

"Brool, when do I get to see the candy places?" Luffy asked as he skipped over to her. "It looks yummy!" he said as he now walked next to her.

Brulee turned to walk towards the mirror she was leading Luffy to, and told him that he would see them soon, but couldn't eat the houses because people lived there. "Would you want someone to eat your house?" she asked.

"No, that would be mean," Luffy said. "Are we going through a mirror again?"

"Yes, we're going to my room to get you some clothes. The clothes you are wearing are smelly," Brulee said as they passed through the mirror. Luffy smelled himself. He agreed with her. He didn't smell good. So she had him stand on a stool since he was a lot shorter than her and took his measurements. He was very small, and she asked how old he was.

"I five."

After she took many measurements of his body and for his shoes, she took him back to Katakuri's mirror and they both sat on the couch. Brulee asked him about himself. Trivial things like his favorite food and animal. When she asked about his family, it was brief since he hadnt seen them in a long time.

**Line**

Katakuri stood in front of Big Mom, who was stuffing her face with live cupcakes, as she listened to how he carried out the mission he was sent to, which involved painful murder. He completed it perfectly, and no one was hurt. Well, not that she really cared about anyone getting hurt. Especially people as low as crew mates.

"Why do you look uncomfortable, Katakuri?" she asked suspiciously. "Is there something else you want to tell me?"

"I bought a slave on my way back to the islands," he said simply.

"Oh? What are they like? When are you going to introduce me?" she asked curiously. She never pictured Katakuri wanting a slave.

"He's a child. I bought him because I saw potential in him. Then I found out he's a logia fruit user. I would like him to be presentable in front of you, so I'd like to wait for you two to meet until he has clothes and shoes. I'll ask Brulee to make him some garments," he explained. He knew Mama would be upset if she knew someone else knew before she did.

"Interesting... How old is he?" she questioned. She was interested in this boy if Katakuri had been enough to buy him.

"He is five years old. And a 'D'." Big Mom looked at him like he was someone she'd never met. Granted, suddenly taking in a five year old child was surprising for someone like Katakuri.

"Name?" she demanded. She was not pleased that he bought a child that he'd have to train and take care of. It'd better not interfere with his work for her.

"Monkey D. Luffy." It was as if Katakuri could read his mother's mind, as he said, "I will not let taking care of him interfere with business and missions." She raised her chin at him in what looked like a challenge.

"It better not, or he won't be here anymore," she said with a cold laugh. "You can go." Katakuri hurried out of the room and the whole building, scowling. He was almost never angry with Big Mom, but what she said pissed him off. People he passed moved away from him with the angry feeling haki coming from him unintentionally. No one ever criticized her for having over 80 children. But then again, Katakuri wasn't the one in charge. He wasn't a Yonko. But it still angered him. He wouldn't let her kill him, which he knew was what she threatened.

Luffy was five, and a five year old isn't the most organized age mentally. Katakuri hoped that he could get Luffy to behave and not run around the palace or tea party like a crazed maniac. Or just a hyper five year old. He didn't know if giving Luffy as much sugar as there was going to be there was a good idea.

Katakuri had been with his younger siblings while they were children, and when many of them ate as much candy as they could, you couldn't get them to sit down, and then they suddenly had the inevitable crash and fell asleep.

Luffy was hyper a lot already, and it seemed more so when he was introduced somewhere new.

When he got back to his home, Brulee and Luffy were there, Luffy napping on the couch and Brulee sewing on the window seat. Katakuri knew that Luffy was a heavy sleeper when he napped, so he had no problem with talking to Brulee about what happened.

"So? How'd it go?" the sister asked.

"Not good. She's not pleased. And if he interferes with business, then he's gonna _go_," Katakuri said, not saying what Big Mom meant, but Brulee knew what he meant. She sighed. "How'd he behave?" he asked.

"He was very excited about the mirror world. More than a couple times he looked into bathrooms and I had to tell him to not look, but other than that he was fine. He stayed still while I did the measurements. If you ask or tell him to, I'm sure he'd behave fine. The clothes will be done quickly, but the shoes might take longer, so I'll make him sandals, which will be easier to make."

Katakuri sighed. He actually didn't want Luffy to look presentable anytime soon. He had no idea how Luffy would react to Big Mom. He didn't like it, but he hoped Luffy got scared. For his own safety from Mama. She would be furious if he wasn't scared of her and she wouldn't be able to take any of his lifespan.

But he was a 'D' and everyone had heard about them supposedly being determined and even fearless. He looked to Luffy again, suddenly feeling a little bit guilty that he'd taken Luffy to this dangerous place in the first place. He might have been able to just drop the kid off at a shelter in some big city on an island. But it was only because of Big Mom that he wished he hadnt taken him in. Katakuri actually did like Luffy. And his crew and now Brulee all liked him. He was really an easily likeable boy. He hoped Big Mom felt the same when she met him.

**The chapters are a bit long, so if anyone wants me to shorten them by cutting them in half, tell me. It has over 4,000 words in almost all of the chapters, or longer.**


	2. Getting Used to a Child is Difficult

**Disclaimer: I made Luffy into what I think is a cute little boy. Might not be accurate for his age.**

**Sorry about not posting for awhile. No one really was into it so I forgot about it for a bit. Sorry! anyways, enjoy~**

Luffy woke up on his bed of pillows in the living room, confused as to where he was at the moment. He was next to the big window that looked outside to see all the sweets and remembered he was at Koori's house. He got up and explored the room for any toys. He hadnt had toys in a long time, but he knew he liked them.

He didn't make any noise or a mess while he searched, but he found nothing anywhere, and became sad. There was nothing to do. He wanted to go outside to eat the candy, but Brool said it wouldn't be nice to eat other people's houses. And he couldn't get into the refrigerator.

He was very bored. But he was used to this. At his other short-term slave masters, there was nothing to do as well. But just because he was used to it didn't mean he liked it. But he didn't want to wake Koori up, so he laid on his back on the couch with his head tilted just far enough to look outside at all the candy.

It didn't take too long after he gave up and just laid on the couch before Katakuri woke up and came out of his room. He had forgotten Luffy was there and didn't have his scarf on. He immediately turned around when he sensed Luffy almost right in front of him.

"Koori! Can I have toys? I bored a lot," Luffy said. Katakuri didn't answer as he wrapped his scarf around his face, neck and shoulders. "Koori?" the boy questioned, wondering why he didn't answer. Luffy stood up on the couch to look over it at the man he was staying with.

"We'll get some toys later today. And you should take a bath, too. Or a shower. Don't worry, you won't drown. I'll make a seat for you instead of laying in the bath. Does that sound okay?" the man asked the boy, who nodded. He was excited. He hadnt had a real bath or shower in a long time.

"When do I take it?" Luffy asked excitedly.

"Brulee said she'd be done with at least one outfit for you by today. Hopefully a pair of shoes as well, but we can always go shopping for new clothes, though not right away. I don't want people to see you yet. Mama has to see you first," Katakuri explained the boy, who was bouncing on the balls of his little bare feet.

"Mama? You have a mama?" Luffy asked, interested. It was weird to him for adults to have older adults, since he'd never known any grandparents. He only knew Makino and Shanks but they weren't mommy and daddy, though Makino took care of him before he was caught and sold.

"Yes, everyone has a mama. Mama runs the islands and pirate crews. She wants to be the Pirate King-"

"But _I'm _gonna be the Pirate King!" Luffy said with a pout. Katakuri sighed, and then crouched in front of Luffy, very serious.

"You must never say that outside of this house. It would be dangerous. Mama would get mad. So keep that to yourself, alright?" he said solemnly. Luffy nodded his head and then hurried to the small kitchen table, successfully climbing onto one of the chairs.

With the topic of Big Mom passed, Luffy asked what was for breakfast. He was happy to eat real food! And the food on the ship was yummy, but any food was good to him. Especially meat! Do people have meat for breakfast? "What is for breakfast?" Luffy asked as the top of his head barely reached the table. Katakuri would have to do something about the oversized furniture for him. At least he could climb onto the couch. He also needed to get the boy a real bed, not just pillows in a corner. And he should have left the bedroom door open last night, but he didn't want Luffy wandering in and seeing Katakuri's face without the "neck blanket".

"I'm not the best cook, so we're having toast. Do you like butter or jam?" Luffy cocked his head in confusion. What was 'toast'? His previous master's always had really fancy dishes, so he wasn't familiar with toast.

"What is toast?" Luffy asked curiously.

"It's cooked bread," was Katakuri's great response. "You put a topping on it, either butter or jam. Jam is mashed up fruit. Here, try it," the man said as he walked over to Luffy and leaned down to put two jars of blackberry and apricot jam. Katakuri was planning on giving a spoon to Luffy, but before he could do that, Luffy stuck his tiny finger into the jar and tasted both.

"Yummy! They're both good! I want both!" Luffy said. Katakuri nodded and took two pieces of bread and put them in the toaster.

"I have to do something about your chair. You can't reach the table." Luffy looked slightly offended and stood up on his chair, able to just reach his arms onto the wooden surface.

"No, I can reach! See?" Luffy said with a frown. Katakuri hurmored him.

"You look so much bigger when you stand up," he said lightly. Luffy lost his frown and grinned. The man spread the two different kinds of jams onto Luffy's toast and brought the plate to him with a napkin. "Now, try to eat neatly as practice for a party we are having this week. Luffy chirped out an "Okay!" and did his best to eat neatly. Katakuri could tell her was really trying, but it still wasn't good.

"Did I do okay?" Luffy questioned while Katakuri ate his own toast.

"You need more practice, but for a first time, it was very good," the guardian praised. Luffy grinned and took his napkin to rub it all over his mouth, only to smear it more until it was all around his mouth. Katakuri reached across the table easily and wiped Luffy's mess on his face gently. Luffy grinned, and sat down to get off the chair and run into the living room to jump onto the couch and wait for Koori to be done eating.

"Alright, we need to lay down some rules, Luffy," Katakuri said as he sat on the couch across from Luffy, who was sitting on the fluffy carpet in front of the couch. Luffy nodded, listening because he had a feeling these rules were important.

"First: no going outside without me going with you. Don't open the door without me. Second: try not to make a mess, in any room. I know there's not much to make a mess out of, but I like keeping my home as clean as possible. Third: don't go into my bedroom without knocking first and waiting for an answer, even if the door is open. Fourth: always, always, be respectful to everyone you meet here, even those you may not like or who may not like you. I don't think my siblings will dislike you, but there are a few who aren't the nicest people," (Flampe).

"Fifth: don't eat buildings, even if they're made of candy. Sixth: just always try to be on your best behavior. I want you to be happy here. You might not be happy if you get in trouble for being disrespectful." The he stopped talking for a moment. He wondered when he started to care about Luffy's happiness more than his future usefulness. Well, if Katakuri was going to take care of him, he wanted the little boy to be happy.

"And lastly: always do what Mama says. Never talk to her rudely, not that I ever think you will. And don't speak unless spoken to. She can get angry, and that's not good." He didn't tell him to not be afraid, because that would work against the little one and send the wrong message. It would be best for him to be afraid, even if he does have lifespan taken away.

"Okay! I will follow rules best I can," Luffy said with a single nod. "Can we go buy toys?!" he asked, rocking back and forward while he sat. Katakuri smiled at the bright expression on Luffy's face. He was glad his scarf blocked the view. He never smiled, and it felt foreign to him.

"Yes, we can go get toys. But you must stay hidden in my pocket, okay? Once we have some toys, you will take a bath," Katakuri said. Luffy nodded and reached his arms up so the man could lift him easier and set him in a pocket in his vest.

Luffy enjoyed being in the pocket. He was like a secret! He did pop his head out high enough for his wide eyes to look around. He wondered where they were going to get toys. He watched as they headed to a busier part of the town, which actually didn't have much. And there were lots of different looking people. Some greeted Koori, who had a flat voice with them.

Katakuri felt strange as he walked into a store that had a section for children, along with clothes for all sizes, even the largest commanders. "Okay, Luffy," the man said quietly. "Point at the ones you want, but be quiet about it." Katakuri barely heard the quiet, "Kay".

Luffy pointed to action figures of some of Katakuri's siblings. This owner of this store clearly admired the Charlotte family. A couple bath toys and also a purple stuffed bear, along with a scarf almost identical to Katakuri's.

He felt eyes on him as he walked out out a store with a small bag containing toys. But no one asked him what they were for. It wasn't their business, and they didn't want to tick the commander off. He was glad he saw none of his siblings. He wondered how they'd react. Probably laugh at him, knowing he wouldn't hurt them. He could see some of the women liking Luffy, along with Daifuku and Oven. Pudding would probably really like him, despite her scary attitude sometimes.

The ones he was most worried about reacting badly was, of course, Big Mom and Flampe. She would probably try to bully him. He would be far from surprised if she grew jealous of Luffy spending more time with Katakuri than she did. He wasn't blind to her obsession, but just didn't care much.

When Katakuri and Luffy got back home, the big man found that Luffy had fallen asleep in his pocket. He set down the bag of toys and picked him out by the scruff of his tattered shirt and set him down on the couch. He put a blanket over him, and went to put the chair in the shower. It was much bigger than Luffy needed, since it had to fit Katakuri. Luffy probably wouldn't be able to even turn the nozzle, so he'd have to help with that.

While he waited for Luffy to wake up, he called Brulee on his transponder snail, moving into the kitchen so the conversation doesn't wake Luffy up, but he'd have to talk more quietly.

"Hello?" Brulee asked over the snail.

"It's me. Do you have any of the clothes and shoes made?" Katakuri asked quietly, getting straight to the point. Brulee responded that she had a few outfits done that she could bring over to him. The shoes were coming along slowly, but the sandals were done, so Luffy could wear those.

"Did you make him a presentable outfit for the Tea Party?"

"Yes, a dress shirt and some black pants. Why are you whispering?" the sister asked.

"Luffy's sleeping on the couch," he said gruffly. He could see the smirk the snail was wearing. "...Can you bring the clothes over now?" He didn't like Brulee finding this funny. He turned the transponder snail off after his closest sister said she'd be there in a few minutes. The mirror power really was very handy.

Luffy woke up when Brulee came through the mirror, making some noise very close to where he was napping. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. When did he fall asleep? Must have been after the toy store… _toys!_ He had toys now! He jumped off the couch and hurried to the bag resting on the floor and dumped the contents out and onto the fluffy carpet. He had so many!

As Brulee walked towards the kitchen, she watched as Luffy excitedly went to a bag of toys and started to play with the figures of her siblings. But then it clicked. Katakuri went to the toy store! She wouldn't tease him though. She could tell her amusement somewhat irritated him, so she wasn't going to show it anymore.

"Hello, Luffy," she said nicely. Luffy beamed at her with his little teeth.

"Look at all the toys I got! Are these real people?" he questioned as he set his figures up next to each other.

"Yes, those are our siblings. They're the very popular ones," she said, setting the folded clothes onto the back of the couch. "That one is named Smoothie, this one is Pudding, this one is Oven, and finally the one with the staff is Perospero." Luffy looked at them in awe.

"Why are they named after food?" he asked curiously. "I think I like smoothies and pudding. I haven't had them in awhile. Are they named that because is there favorite foods? This one is pretty," he added as he picked up Pudding's figure. "She look nice."

"A lot of us are named after food. Mostly sweets because Mama likes sweet foods. There are a lot more of us than you must have seen in the toy store. Guess how many siblings me and Katakuri have?" Brulee asked as she sat on the couch behind him. Katakuri was leaning against the wall, unable to stop a small smile coming to his face. Luffy was a very happy child. He hoped that wouldn't change.

"Ten!" Luffy guessed.

"Actually, there are 85 of us," Katakuri spoke up from the doorway. Luffy's mouth opened in shock.

"Can they all make food?" he asked curiously. They would always have an endless supply of food if they could. He wondered if Pudding and Smoothie could make him some when he meets them some time. He was excited to meet so many people. New people were fun.

Brulee shook her head, gaining Luffy's attention once again. "Actually, very few can make food. Perospero can make hard candy, Cracker can make crackers and biscuits and Katakuri can make mochi." Luffy looked confused.

"But why is Koori not name mochi?" It was a good question, and their answer was just that that was how it was. "Hmmm… that's weird. I want a Koori toy!" Luffy said as he went back to playing with his now named toys.

Katakuri and Brulee went to the kitchen and sat at the table. Even Brulee was much smaller at the table than her brother, though she was much taller than the five year old. Katakuri had gotten used to being able to keep his haki on Luffy in case something happened, at the same time as when he was focusing on something else.

"I see you've made the clothes well. Thank you," the sweet commander said, tightly. Brulee knew what the problem was.

"You're afraid to take him to Mama, aren't you?" It wasn't everyday that the man admits that he is _scared _of something, but his sister was right. He just nodded with a sigh, adjusting his scarf a bit since it had fallen down a bit. He had liked being able to not wear it at home, but he didn't want to scare Luffy, though he was thinking that Luffy might not be too scared of his uncovered face. Well, he'd think about showing him after seeing how he reacts to the others and Mama.

"I have a bad feeling about him meeting Mama. He's never shown fear of anything, and though he probably hasn't encountered anything or anyone like Mama, I get a feeling of fearlessness from him. And that could be bad. Mama probably doesn't like me keeping him in the first place, but if she is unable to frighten him, then that would be bad," Katakuri explained. He rarely spoke that much, so Brulee knew he was stressed.

"Do you think it's because he's a 'D.'?" she asked. They could both hear Luffy making little noises with his toys from the living room.

"Possibly." Then he sighed and closed his eyes. "Now that his clothes are finished, I must take him to Mama."

"I'll stay here if you go talk to her about a good meeting time," Brulee said gently, leaning up to pat her brother on the shoulder encouragingly. Katakuri thanked her and went back to the living room and to Luffy.

"Luffy, I'm going to be gone for a little while. Be good for Brulee, okay?" he said. Luffy just nodded enthusiastically and then turned back to his toys. "Maybe also take a shower while I'm gone. I'm sure Brulee will help you," Katakuri added and walked out the door, closing it gently behind him and walking back to the chateau to see Big Mom.

Luffy continued to play with his toys for awhile while Brulee sat on the couch and read a book from her brother's large bookshelf. When Luffy put his toys down and stopped making the little noises, he asked, "Brool, when I take a wash?"

"Do you want to take one now?" Luffy nodded his head, and followed Brulee into the bathroom as she set up the shower for the little boy. He sat on a big chair as she turned the shower head on, the water warm but not scalding hot. He got a little tired under the water, but the water was a soft dribble, so he was still able to wash himself fine, even though he hadnt in a long time.

After he was dried with a fluffy towel and changed into his more casual outfit, he bragged proudly about how he was able to wash himself by himself. Brulee praised him, and the shower had made him sleepy, so he took a nap on his bed of pillows. Brulee looked at him sadly, feeling bad for him having to see Mama when she wasn't happy that Luffy was here in the first place.

Katakuri knocked on the door to the throne room Big Mom was in, who was excited for her tea party the next day. She called him in, and smiled when he entered.

"Katakuri! What brings you here?" she asked cheerfully as she ate cream puffs. Her homies hovered next to her, both happy. Katakuri was surprised that she seemed to have forgotten about Luffy. Or she was lying. He couldn't tell since she looked amused often.

"Clothes have been made for Luffy. When would you like to meet him?" he asked flatly, wondering what her answer would be. He assumed before the tea party because meeting him at a special event might seem like a waste of time. After all, she thought Luffy was a slave because she didn't want to acknowledge that her important son had found someone he wanted to take care of. And a child at that.

"Ma mama! Well, he can be introduced at the Tea Party tomorrow!" Big Mom said, surprising her son. "It could be a finale, where I welcome him by taking away some lifespan! Should be a nice party, don't you think so, too?" she asked, almost like a challenge. Katakuri nodded his head once.

**Line**

Luffy was dressed in his fancy clothes, looking very cute. It was a white button up shirt and some black pants. The sandals didn't exactly match the clothes, but it was all Luffy had. Brulee was trying to make him as presentable as possible for the next day. The party. She tried brushing his hair to the side, which he exclaimed tickled and couldn't stay still. His hair didn't cooperate anyways, still a little wild, even after a shower.

When Katakuri returned and entered the room to see Luffy in his outfit, he couldn't help but smile. Luffy looked very cute, though the man would never voice those words out loud. Now that Luffy had the proper clothes, it was time to train his behavior for a big event like this. Something he'd most likely never been at.

The three sat at the kitchen table, Luffy sitting on a box full of random stuff to make it solid enough for Luffy to sit on. "How do you introduce yourself?" Katakuri asked seriously.

"I Luffy, who are you?" Luffy tried. But he was told to try again. "I Luffy, who are you?"

"Try a different one. Another way to say it," the man said patiently, glad Luffy was paying attention at all.

"I Luffy. What is your name?" Luffy tried. That was deemed acceptable, and they moved on to the next thing.

"Now, what do you say when someone says something nice to you?" This one was the easiest, but asked just to make sure.

"Thank you!" Luffy cheered, positive he got it right. He smiled when he was told "good job". Brulee could tell that her brother was actually getting the hang of talking to Luffy in a good way for the boy.

"I call people 'miss'?" Luffy asked before Katakuri could come up with another question. "Makino say ladies like to be call 'miss'," the boy explained. When he was asked who Makino was by Brulee, he replied that she was a nice lady he remembered before being caught by bad guys.

"Well, women do like being called miss, especially if they're older. So I'd say addressing people as 'miss' is a good idea," Brulee responded. Luffy grinned, glad he got something right.

"Now, what do you not show to anyone?" Katakuri asked, already have spoken to him about it, though the man wanted to drill it into Luffy's head.

"My sparkly power!" Luffy answered. "And if anyone asks, I say I no have one."

"Good," Katakuri praised. "And what do you do if you don't like someone, or they are being mean to you?" He was thinking solely of Flampe. Even though she was ten years older than little Luffy, he expected her to be cruel to him. But he would bet Luffy wouldn't care.

"Not get mad back. Always be nice!"

"Exactly. Now, we have to work on your eating skills," Katakuri instructed. He pulled out a small piece of cake from the refrigerator that Luffy hadn't known about and gave it to the boy. He then gave Luffy a spoon, because he didn't trust Luffy with a fork or knife yet.

"Now, use the spoon and scoop the very tip on of the end of the cake. Then bring it to your mouth," he said. He needed to know what to work with, since Luffy surprised him and might actually have good manners, not including toast crumbs he'd gotten everywhere that morning.

Luffy did his best, but the cake was hard to eat slowly, so even though he got the sweet onto the spoon okay, he shoved it in his mouth too fast and got some outside of his mouth. "I do okay?" he asked, smiling at the yummy taste.

"You did well getting it on the spoon, but try and eat it slower. But you did good on the first part. Try again," the big man said, though not unkindly. So Luffy tried again, this time being better. He accidentally got the side of his hand in the frosting and didn't hesitate to lick it off.

Well, time to teach him how to use a napkin. "Okay, let's move on. Have you ever used a napkin?" Luffy nodded. "Wipe your mouth like you have frosting all over it." Luffy did so, smashing the paper to his mouth and rubbing it around harshly, ripping the white napkin he was given.

Neither adult were surprised with how he wasn't the neatest eater. Not just because he had been a slave for a time and probably never ate with utensils or napkins. But he was also only five years old. He could see most of his siblings not finding it disgusting as long as he didn't stick his fingers in his mouth before touching other things. Plus, Mama wasn't always the neatest eater either.

The three practiced table manners, both adults wondering if Luffy would remember any of this in the morning or while eating at the Tea Party.


	3. The Tea Party

**The tea party has come! Don Don Don! **

**Violent Ahegao: thanks so much for the such detailed review! I'm glad you think it's cute, and it will only get cuter (imo). **

**lazygreycloud: I'm glad you found it! Hope you continue to enjoy.**

**SilversHaki: I'm happy you've enjoyed it so far!**

**Enjoy~**

Katakuri woke up the next morning, immediately anxious. The day of the Tea Party had come. There were going to be a lot of people, and 5 year old Luffy was not going to have a clue about what was going on or who anyone was. Who Mama was, or how she reacted to bad things.

He heard some noises coming from the living room, telling him that Luffy was already awake. He quickly got dressed and put his scarf on before walking into the living room to see Luffy playing with his toy Smoothie and Oven. Katakuri thought that the actual figures would find Luffy playing with them cute.

"Koori!" Luffy cheered when he saw the man enter from behind the couch. "Candy today, right?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Yes. _But _you can only eat as much as I give you, okay? We don't want you to get an upset tummy." (Or go batshit crazy.) "Do you remember what we practiced?" he asked, leading Luffy into the kitchen. Katakuri lifted Luffy up by the armpits and onto his stacked seat.

"I have to eat good and be good and no telling secret and say thank you," Luffy listed as he waited for toast with butter this time. The large man was surprised that he remembered all of that. He probably only remembered all of it due to the cake he gotta eat during the short lessons.

"Exactly. And what did I say about the sweets?"

"Eat as much as I want!" Luffy said, knowing full well that was _not _what Koori had said, but a boy can dream.

"No, I said you can eat as much as I give you. Don't give me a pout, it's for your own good," Katakuri said after handing Luffy his toast and a napkin so hopefully he didn't leave crumbs everywhere. He gave him a cup of water with a straw to make it less likely he'd spill and make the crumbs already on the table mushy.

Despite the boy's formal appearance, Luffy's hair was still messy, but that was fine. It wasn't a very big deal compared to the hair of some of the sweet commander's siblings.

He had Luffy recite the rules once again, and then headed to the party. Luffy was very excited to enter the cake building. Katakuri had a mochi band wrapped around Luffy's waist connected to his belt loop as a sort of harness. Luffy didn't complain thankfully. God, the man hoped he'd behave and everything would go smoothly.

**Line**

"Wow!" Luffy exclaimed as they walked through the palace and up stairs. Luffy, being very small, couldn't walk up the steep stairs too quickly, so Katakuri held him up in his hand while he walked both of them to the roof of the chateau. Luffy thought it was fun, and giggled the whole way up.

Katakuti stopped right in front of the door leading outside, and told Luffy that he had to be on his best behavior, and the little boy gave him a grin and a small thumbs up. He set Luffy down and walked through the door and out into the sweet smelling party area.

It was very crowded, and Luffy was swallowed in between all of the long legs walking around him. Katakuri shortened the mochi rope to keep Luffy closer to him. No one noticed him until Luffy gasped in a scream, startling those closest to him, and even Katakuri, who looked down quickly.

"Smoothie! Look, look!" Luffy exclaimed, oblivious to everyone looking at him and Katakuri strangely.

Smoothie had heard her name called by a young voice. She watched as Katakuri walked to her slowly, Luffy excitedly pulling the mochi rope closer to Smoothie. When Luffy was right in front of her long legs, sitting at a table, she finally noticed him.

"Why do you have a kid with you?" she asked, somewhat confused. Before Katakuri answered, Luffy said, "I have your toy!" happily. Smoothie couldn't help but smile, something she rarely did. Everyone else came closer to hear their older brother's answer.

"I bought him," he said simply, with a flat voice.

Luffy pulled out his little figure of Smoothie and showed it to her. Katakuri hadn't noticed that at the last moment, Luffy had shoved his toys into his pockets on their way out of the house. Then Luffy pulled out Pudding and Perospero. "I have Pudding an Oven an Peropero, too," he said and went on his tip toes to stand them on the table.

"What is your name?" Smoothie asked in a nice voice.

"I Luffy. Who are you? Ah! I mean what is your name?" he asked, correcting himself for his mistake. "Oh, nevermine, I know your name." Then he giggled.

Katakuri was shocked to see almost _everyone _smile at him. For some of them, it was an expression they'd never worn, at least around Katakuri. Some of the girls came over to see him, while Daifuku asked why his brother had bought a child.

"I see potential in him. It would have been a waste to not take him. And he's a 'D', too." Of course, he didn't mention that Luffy had a powerful Devil Fruit as well.

"Koori save me from being slave!" Luffy cheered as he held his toys close to his chest before shoving them back into his pockets. Some of the others chuckled at "Koori". "He is nice and make me toast. I never had toast before." He turned back to Smoothie.

"Are you good at making smoothies?" Luffy asked her.

"I told you she can't make smoothies, Luffy," Katakuri said in a patient voice, not showing irritation at all. Then he noticed everyone looking at him in shock. He had sounded nice and not bored.

"Oh. I wanna meet Pudding!" Luffy said, patting Katakuri's leg rather impatiently.

The man sighed, "Okay, where is she?" he asked Smoothie. She pointed to the left, where Katakuri could see her sitting at a table, looking bored. He hoped she was in her good mood and not her cruel, random, one. He wondered how Luffy would react to her having a third eye. Maybe, if he did see it, and reacted well, Katakuri could show Luffy his _own _deformity. Then he banished the thought. He didn't want Luffy to even possibly be afraid of him.

Luffy hurried forward, once again dragging the mochi connected to Katakuri. He heard the girl's giggles and guy's laughter. If he ever blushed, he would be now. He couldn't help but be embarrassed, but at the same time, didn't really care. They seemed to like Luffy so far, and that was enough for him.

Pudding looked very surprised, more so than Smoothie, when Luffy walked up to her. "I have your toy!" Luffy said again, pulling out Pudding's figure. "You are pretty like Makino." Pudding smiled at him, soaking in the compliment, especially from a child obviously not flirting or making things awkward.

"I want a Koori toy, but I only want these ones first," Luffy explained. "I want toys of everyone."

"Hey, Oven, Perospero?" someone in the crowd of siblings called. Both turned their heads, not having seen Luffy yet. "You have a fan." Both men looked confused and walked over.

Oven was first to ask why the hell Katakuri had a kid attached to him.

"Don't swear in front of kids," Amande scolded in her monotone voice, easily able to see Luffy from how tall she was. Many could see Luffy once they turned to his direction, since so many of the siblings were very tall.

"He adopted him," Smoothie said. "He says he 'bought' him, but really he adopted him." Katakuri turned his glare to Smoothie. He didn't want to be a father when he bought Luffy. But now he was taking care of him in his house and feeding and clothing him. And he couldn't see himself as a brother either with someone so young. Maybe Katakuri would be like an uncle.

He was honestly mentally weak if he shied away from the role he took on.

Luffy looked up to the two new tall people. "Ah! I have your toys!" Luff called, waving both of his male toys in the air above his head. Oven laughed loudly, while Perospero actually looked uncomfortable. He walked away, but Luffy wasn't upset. He had lots of other fun people around him. Koori and Brool really actually had so many brothers and sisters!

Then, Flampe came over, very grumpy looking as she glared at Luffy, who was back to Pudding, asking if she made pudding. Pudding did reply she could bake, and would be happy to bake him some yummy desserts. Luffy was happy about this.

Everyone went quiet when Flampe walked to Luffy, who finally noticed her and turned around. He could tell this girl didn't like him, since she was glaring at him. But Luffy had never met her before. The others all knew Flampe was about to bully Luffy, but they wanted to see his reaction to her personality.

"I don't see why brother took in a baby. And a stupid one at that. You're a waste of time, _Luffy._ What kind of name is that? Brother will ditch you eventually," she said harshly, glaring at him. Katakuri couldn't help but glare at her, though he didn't intervene. This was a test for Luffy, and everyone knew it.

Luffy just stared at her blankly, before he heard the giggle of a very small child. He looked in that direction and saw a baby with pink hair and a hat. "Ah! Look, Koori! A baby!" he exclaimed and went hurrying towards two pink haired people, completely ignoring Flampe and her mean words. He knew she was mean, and he didn't like her, but he didn't get mad at her because he wasn't supposed to. Plus, he didn't feel like getting in an argument at a party!

Katakuri smirked, which was barely visible to the sibling as tall as him next to him who could see his crinkled eyes. Smoothie smirked as well. Everyone else were impressed, but now there was a very angry Flampe, steaming at how Luffy hadnt even reacted. She had wanted him to act out and annoy everyone who was fawning over him. They should be impressed and adoring _her!_ Not a stupid little kid who could barely even talk grammatically correctly!

Luffy had reached the baby he had heard and rushed the a pink haired woman with big lips, who was coddling the baby. Luffy wished _he _had a hat!

"Is that your baby?" he asked the women excitedly. She turned to him in surprise. She hadnt heard or seen Luffy and the crowd he'd gathered because she was focusing on Pez.

"Yes, his name is Pez. Who are you?" she asked kindly. Where did another child come from? He didn't look like a kid from Big Mom because he just looked like a normal boy. No strange facial features or strange outfit.

She was surprised when Katakuri came over to them shortly, following the mochi rope that had stretched from Luffy hurrying off so quickly. Katakuri was glad he wasn't a very social person so going with Luffy instead of talking with everyone was good for him. He was still impressed, though not surprised, by how Luffy had handled Flampe's attempt at bullying. She was probably trying to get a negative reaction of out him. Well, she didn't.

"I Luffy. Koori save me and now he take care of me," Luffy explained simply, looking at the baby in wonder. The baby had a strange binky. But he didn't say anything about Pez's unique features. "How old is he?" he asked. Luffy hadnt seen a baby in a long, long time, but he liked them because they were cute. And smaller than him, so that was nice, too. Luffy was always the smallest person when he even was around others his age that he met while being a slave for a short while with a noble who had kids fight each other.

Luffy won a lot, and lost a lot.

"Pez is nine months old. He looks just like his papa," the woman, Chiffon, said to him after introducing herself as well. Luffy danged his fingers above the baby.

"Hi, Pez," he said happily. The baby grabbed his fingers, causing Luffy to giggle. He played with the baby for a few minutes, while Katakuri stood behind him, facing the other direction. He was being over protective in case one of his siblings did not approve of or like Luffy being there in the first place.

And he was also watching out for Flampe coming over and doing something. Or worse, trying to dart him from a distance. But she wasn't showing up, and he could see her a ways away pouting and raving to her "friends".

Then the man turned to the side, away from Flampe and her possy, to see the expressions of some of his siblings. They were smirking at him. He glared back, very glad he had never blushed. The ones he could tell didn't approve were mostly men, and they just ignored Katakuri and Luffy. Oh well, at least they weren't picking a fight. He cared for his siblings, yes, but he cared more for some than others.

He turned once again away from his siblings and looked to Big Mom. Her look almost gave him chills. She was not happy about the positive attention being given to Luffy, or the fact that Katakuri was sticking to him so much that he was choosing to be with the boy over his own siblings.

While her brother was looking away from her and also away from the stupid little kid, Flampe got her silent blow dart ready, not using a _lethal _one, just one that would ruin the rest of his day and possibly tomorrow as well and make him sick. She aimed, one eye closed, from around the corner of a table stacked with desserts.

A few others saw what she was doing, but were sure Katakuri would handle it. Then wondered what he would do. But those who saw her were not the ones who openly expressed positive emotions about the little boy with black hair.

The moment the dart flew out of the tube and towards Luffy, Katakuri sensed it, and easily caught the thing in midair. Then he turned to look at Flampe with the scariest look and the angriest haki that she'd even felt. He crushed the thing in his big hand, as if daring her to _just try again _and see what would happen.

Katakuri knew that the dart would have just passed through Luffy's body due to his logia power, but he wouldn't let Flampe attack Luffy and didn't want his power to be exposed. When he felt the small thing flowing through the air towards him with his haki, easily sensed, he felt rage and intense protectiveness for Luffy. It had only been maybe a week, including on the boat, since he'd bought - adopted, whatever you want to call it - Luffy and he was already caring much more about him than some of his siblings. For example, Flampe.

Others saw Katakuri's face and the feeling of rage he gave off and had all decided they would not be messing with Luffy whatsoever.

Luffy's attention was brought away from the baby and his mother when Big Mom spoke from her table. Katakuri was usually at her table, but he didn't want to leave Luffy yet also didn't want to bring him to her table. He didn't know what to do.

When she looked at him pointedly, he knew it would be safest (for Luffy) if he were to sit with her. He quickly walked to Pudding and asked if she could watch Luffy while he sat with Mama. She said she would, and agreed to limit Luffy's consumption of sweets provided freely for everyone.

After Big Mom had her short talk that most didn't pay much mind to, they dug in. Well, except Luffy, who was pouting at his small serving of sweets. He had a normal sized piece of cake, a few cookies, and a brownie.

He looked to Big Mom, and said, "But she's eating a lot, why can't I?"

"We don't want your stomach to be upset," Pudding said nicely as she drank some of her tea. Everyone knew why Luffy was not allowed to eat too much. Some had had more than 80 younger siblings, and each one went crazy as a little kid when they consumed too much sweets. Flampe laughed at him from a table over, her own plate loaded with tons of sweets.

Luffy pouted again, but then did what he and Koori had practiced. He ate neatly. As neat as he could. He had crumbs all over his mouth after eating the single piece of brownie, but didn't make a mess besides that.

"So, Luffy, what do you think of Katakuri?" Amande asked. The others listened and watched Luffy's reply.

"He nice! He bought me and I went on his ship and it was fun. And his house is so big. The couch and chairs super big, so I have to sit on a box on the chair. He say he doesn't cook much, so we just have toast for breakfast. He teach me how to eat neat," Luffy explained as he ate his cake, mushing his napkin on his mouth after every few bites, soon tearing it to pieces. "Oh," he said as he looked at the ruined napkin. But there were others on the table, and he got a new one.

The others smiled at Luffy's explanation. "How old are you?" Smoothie asked, taking a sip of her very sweetened coffee. Luffy chirped that he was five and took a sip of his own drink, which was plain milk.

"So you were a slave?" Custard, a purple haired sister asked. Luffy nodded.

"No one want me for long though. They say I boring," Luffy replied, his cake finished, not knowing there was some frosting on the tip of his nose. He mashed another napkin around his mouth, though this one didn't dissolve.

"Well, you don't seem boring to me, Luffy," Pudding said, wiping his nose with her napkin. The others wondered why someone would find a slave boring. They weren't exactly there to share company.

"You are all so nice!" Luffy said. "I like you," he said in general.

Big Mom sat at her table with the sweet commanders besides Smoothie, along with some of her other older children. As they talked about events around the New World that they'd read in the papers or heard in their travels. Apparently Portgas D. Ace of the Whitebeard Pirates was going to be executed. Big Mom laughed at this.

"The marines are planning on fighting in a war if that's true. Glad it has nothing to do with us!" she laughed. Cracker smiled because he was supposed to, along with some others. Katakuri was silent as usual. He was keeping his haki focused on Luffy, even if he wasn't watching him. Also, he was disappointed deep down that Mama was _not _Whitebeard, and did _not _treasure her children like that man did. After all, Big Mom had killed her own children many times.

Katakuri spoke up, like he rarely did. And it was about a certain little boy. "Mama, how much time are you gonna take off of Luffy's lifespan?" He sipped his drink, not looking at his mother. He didn't want to see her face about the fact he was talking about his new charge at her table.

"Maybe 10 years," Big Mom said, gauging her son's expression, as well as the others. But he made no expression, and just let out a tiny sigh that no one noticed. He wasn't surprised. It was a lot, though. And he didn't like that Luffy was getting lifespan taken away when he had no _choice_ but to come to Totto Land. But Katakuri said nothing but gave a short nod. He didn't feel like eating sweets anymore. He was too nervous to enjoy them, and he had long since grown tired with candy and sugar (except donuts). He liked any other types of food more.

Speaking of other types of foods, Katakuri needed to learn how to cook. Luffy couldn't just eat toast and sandwiches for every meal. Maybe he'd have to ask for help, which he really didn't want to do, but it was inevitable. Pudding was good at cooking. At least she was about baking.

Big Mom noticed one of her _important _sons was distracted in his thoughts. She interrupted them, asking what he was thinking about. She didn't like that he wasn't focusing on a conversation with her. And she really hoped it wasn't about that brat.

Katakuri answered truthfully. Well, he warped some of it. "I need to learn how to cook healthier meals. I'm getting sluggish." He hoped she bought it.

"Ma, ma-ma!" she laughed. "You don't look like you've gained weight. Don't worry over such trivial things."

"I need to be healthy to do the jobs given to me. If I can't perform them perfectly, then that's a disgrace." He was just telling her things she wanted to hear now. But at least she bought it.

Everyone was done with their sweets, and the drinks were either gone or cold now. Luffy didn't feel the tension on the roof, while the others felt it easily. Even Flampe felt it, and she didn't like the feeling, even though she didn't like Luffy.

Katakuri had Luffy back with him, and was holding him up, reminding him of how to act with Big Mom. He recited back what he had been told many times. To be respectful, speak when spoken to, and do what she says. He clearly couldn't see the nervous look Katakuri was trying to hide, though Smoothe and Cracker definitely could see.

The thing that gave away his nervousness was the bead of sweat rolling down his temple. The man put Luffy down and unattached the mochi rope. Everyone stood in a horizontal line across from Big Mom, while Luffy was walking in front of the line towards the Yonko.

To someone as young and gullible as Luffy, Big Mom looked like a very friendly person. _Big_ but smiling. That meant she was nice. Katakuri bit his lip slightly when Luffy walked up to her with a pleasant expression on. Big Mom looked like he was a good meal she was about to eat. Well, she wouldn't eat him at least. God, everyone wanted him to behave well. They didn't want to see Luffy get his soul sucked away and die.

"Hello, Luffy," Big Mom said, silence falling around all of them. Even the noise of them breathing seemed to be gone.

Luffy replied pleasantly, "Hello, miss." Pudding suppressed a smile. He really was cute. But this wasn't a situation for smiling. Big Mom narrowed her eyes at him, even though he was being perfectly polite. It was because he still had that oblivious expression on his face. Usually, people, even adults, get scared in front of her. This kid just acted like he was talking to an old friend.

"How old are you, Luffy?" she asked sweetly, but with a vindictive smile.

"I five," Luffy answered.

Luffy was doing his best to pay attention to Koori's mama, but there was a cloud and a sun floating above her with faces! He'd never seen clouds or the sun with faces on them. His eyes kept wandering to the left and right of Big Mom's head, but finally, he was able to restrict his attention. But then they talked!

"He's a runt, mama," the sun said, somewhat rudely. But Luffy didn't get it. The cloud nodded and floated down to him to look at him closer. For some reason, the cloud felt something from Luffy. Something different, but familiar. He, nor anyone else besides Big Mom and Katakuri, knew that he was recognizing lightning. After all, Luffy's body was technically lightning.

Big Mom shushed her homies, and even her hat spoke, too. Luffy was amazed.

"Well, even if you're a kid, there's a rule in Totto Land. To live here, you must give away some of your life span," she said with a terrifying face, making sweat bead on even her children's' necks. No one was sweating more than Katakuri was.

_Luffy, please get scared! _

Luffy didn't understand what she meant, and cocked his head in confusion.

"It means I take years off of your life so you can stay here. As payment," the pink haired giant explained impatiently.

"Oh, okay," Luffy said. The room suddenly seemed to get darker. Then there was a weird face in front of him. The big lady had disappeared. Why had it gotten so dark? Luffy looked around, not seeing anything but black and the face in front of him. It had also become colder.

Luffy just focused on the face in front of him. The mouth opened and suddenly Big Mom was there, looking crazed. Luffy just stood there in confusion.

He was unafraid.

All of the siblings watched as Luffy went into his own world where all there was was Big Mom's deadly face. Luffy just stood there, looking confused. He looked away from Big Mom, clearly wondering what the heck was going on and where everyone went.

No one had ever been able to escape Big Mom when she was going to take a soul. And here this five year old kid wasn't scared at all. Was he just stupid, or fearless? They could tell their Mama was getting upset. She grew angry after she said "Life or stay" in a chilling voice. Luffy frowned. What answer should he give?

"Um… Stay?" he offered. But when Big Mom reached down to him with her massive hand, he just stood there and nothing happened. None of his soul would come out. Nothing, not even one minute. One second. Luffy wouldn't be losing any lifespan unless he grew afraid of the Yonko, which would be the smart thing to do.

The giant grew furious and ended up grabbing little Luffy in her big hand and bringing him to her face. Then he started to scream. Katakuri sighed in momentary relief before Luffy screamed, "Too high! Lemme go!"

Luffy was afraid of heights, not Big Mom. Katakuri was surprised that Luffy was never afraid of being high up with him. Even though she was the one picking him up, he was scared of how high up he was being held. She began to squeeze him, but being a logia, he felt fine. As she squeezed tighter, though, little sparks started to come out of her hand. It stung, but then she remembered the little shit was a logia. So she coated her hand in haki, and squeezed more, now hurting Luffy.

"Ahh, stop it! Put me down!" he screamed, in tears. He was gonna fall, and his sides and tummy hurt! Even now, as he was screaming in fear and tears, gripping Big Mom's hand like a lifeline, she was unable to take any lifespan.

She finally dropped him from 30 feet up in the air. Maybe by her hurting him, he'd be afraid and she could show him his place. That he wasn't above anyone just because Katakuri chose him, not that Luffy even thought like that. After all, he'd agreed to giving away some of his life span.

Luffy screamed as he tumbled through the air. He was about to hit that hard ground before Katakuri was suddenly there, holding Luffy. He'd reacted on instinct and caught him. It took everything he had to contain himself from at least telling his mother to put Luffy down or stop hurting him.

Some gasped. Others sighed in relief. But Big Mom's anger clouded those feelings and reactions. Katakuri turned around with a stony face, taking the crying Luffy and sticking him inside his vest's front pocket. The cries were muffled, and suddenly Luffy felt much safer.

That lady was _mean!_ Luffy was being nice, and then she hurt him! He didn't want to be around her again. She was like that mean girl. Why did people not like him? He wasn't rude to anyone. At least he tried not to be. And everyone else was nice to him!

While Katakuri didn't leave, he didn't bring Luffy back out. Even as Big Mom sent him a death glare, he kept a straight face with Luffy still hidden inside a pocket. The others wanted to flee from the two forces of giant haki, one angry and the other defensive. No one did anything, and it was quiet. Silent. You could've heard a pin drop.

Zeus, the cloud with a soul in it, floated down to Katakuri, getting close to the pocket the sniffling little boy was in. Katakuri made no move since he felt the cloud homie wouldn't harm Luffy. "Mama, this boy feels strange."

The sun, Prometheus, floated over as well, though this one made the air hot near Katakuri. "I don't feel anything."

"That's because he has the power of lightning," Big Mom said coldly. Everyone looked very surprised. He had a Devil Fruit? Though no one wanted to be the one to ask for clarification as Mama was still angry.

"I want Luffy out of Totto Land," Big Mom said suddenly. "Or he will -"

"No."

**Cliffhanger! Next chapter will go into more detail about Luffy's life before being a slave.**


	4. The Turning Point

**Violent Ahegao: Thanks for another encouraging review! I hope you like this story for your first baby Luffy x Katakuri fanfic!**

**Lazygreycloud: Thanks for the comment! I don't usually do negative cliffhangers, and boy, Big Mom sure is a negative person. Usually they're cute "cliffhangers", but don't leave such a lasting impression. **

**Nur123: I will update don't worry! The story is finished, so don't worry about me stopping for good or something else terrible. **

**The Keeper of Worlds: I hope my PM answered your question, but again, the OP timeline is not cannon for this story.**

**I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. It's a bit longer than the other ones, but I hope that's a good thing. This chapter has a big turning point for Katakuri regarding Luffy! Enjoy~**

Even Katakuri, the one who said the one word the Yonko hated most, was shocked.

"_No?_" Big Mom questioned, shocked herself that one of her most loyal children was disobeying her directly to her face.

"I will keep him away from the rest of Totto Land and on my island, and I will raise and train him to become a powerful asset for the Charlotte family. You will never have to see him again. But, I won't let him get hurt or killed," Katakuri finished strongly. For once, he wasn't even a bit afraid of his mother. Sometimes, when she killed or ripped out souls, it made him frightened a bit. But now, even with her heated glare directed at him, all he could think of was to protect Luffy, even if he defied Mama.

Big Mom was unsure of what to do. She couldn't take Luffy's soul, and didn't feel like killing him with her own hands at the moment, but she also didn't want to kill her strongest son. If it were anyone else besides him, Cracker, and Smoothie, the most useful children, she wouldn't hesitate to kill someone who defied her in front of many people.

Big Mom glared at him, but the plan sounded fine. She didn't want, though she was angry, for her most useful and talented son to not work for her anymore. Besides, if he was angry enough, he could just leave if she killed the boy. If he kept working diligently for the pirate crew, and she didn't have to see Luffy again, she nodded. Then she told everyone to get out.

Katakuri left too quickly for any one of his siblings to talk to him, and hurried back to his temporary home, packing and moving back to his real house in his own island.

"Luffy, we're back at the house. Do you want to come out now?" he asked softy. He hadnt heard Luffy in a while. His answer was popping his head out of the pocket. The man held his hand out in front of the pocket while Luffy climbed out and onto the palm. The boy was set down on the large couch, looking sad but also very angry.

"She's a meanie! A bad grama!" Luffy exclaimed, surprising Katakuri. He didn't have the heart to tell him that she wasn't his grandma because he wasn't the man's son. Well, in name. The role is like a father so far. But he didn't want to be deemed a father. At least not yet.

"I know it must have been scary, but I am impressed with your bravery. Were you really unafraid of her? At all?" he asked as he sat next to the boy on the couch.

"No, not scared. Mad! She hurt me and dropped me! But thank you for catching me. I thought I gonna DIE!" Luffy exclaimed.

"I wasn't going to let that happen. So don't worry, I'll protect you. Once we start training, you'll learn to protect yourself. Then he might be able to come on trips with me some time." Luffy looked excited at this and bounced on the couch. He liked being a pirate!

"We're going to my own island and my own house today. Mama doesn't want to see you," he said, but was interrupted by Luffy saying that he didn't want to see her either. "So you will stay on my island that I own while you learn to use your powers. I will have to leave sometimes to go on missions for Mama, but I will have you stay with Brulee during those times. I don't think she'll protest."

"Hey! Where was Brool the whole time?" Luffy asked, just noticing the woman hadn't been there. He'd been surrounded by lots of other people, so he didn't notice.

"She was very sick, and thankfully Mama let her stay home without her getting in trouble," Katakuri explained. Something else popped into Luffy's head.

"How come that girl was was a meanie?" Luffy asked with a pout. "She was saying rude stuff to me." He didn't like that girl, and didn't want to see her again.

"Her name is Flampe," Katakuri began. "She is the youngest member of our family and has a bad attitude. She was most likely jealous of you." Luffy asked why she'd be jealous of him. "Well, she's obsessed with me. She was probably jealous because I spend a lot of time with you, willingly. I live with you, and she doesn't get to see me much.

"She is a danger to you, though. She has a blow dart. Like a straw where pointy things with chemicals on them can fly out. She tried to poison you with something, but I stopped her. But, I don't think it will be her last attempt, so if she comes near you, don't provoke her in any way, since she'll already be in a sour mood." Luffy looked shocked. "But the good thing is that, since the darts are pointy, they should go right through your body. I'm not sure how much everyone now knows about your power, since Mama briefly mentioned it, but if they ask, what do you say?"

"No!" Luffy answered. "Not till Koori say so."

"That's right. Now let's get our stuff."

There wasn't much for either of them to get besides Luffy's toys and his other clothes. Katakuri already got a mattress sent to their permanent house. Katakuri said nothing to anyone about him leaving, but it was easy for him to see the others if he wanted to. But now, he did not want to.

When he thought of Luffy screaming in Big Mom's hand, so tiny and scared, Katakuri just wanted to have nothing like that ever happen again. Not to have Luffy that scared, not able to even be put in a situation that he could get that scared. That's why he was planning on training Luffy to be able to use his powers in ways to protect himself.

Katakuri did not want to teach Luffy to be a killer, though that's what he had assured his mother. He didn't know what he'd do if Luffy was ever ordered to kill someone. He just wanted Luffy to be able to protect himself, and anyone else if he wanted to. Luffy was in for a long and tiring road.

Luffy held the sweet commanders extended hand made from mochi as they went through Brulee's mirror world. Luffy wanted to run around and look through mirrors, but his hand was held tightly. Katakuri just wanted them to get home uneventfully.

The mirror Luffy looked through was into a big room with similar furniture than the home he just left, but there were many bookshelves on the walls, full of thick books. The second Luffy was taken through the mirror, he scurried off to explore the large house. Luffy would have his own room here, with his own bathroom, though Luffy wouldn't be allowed to bathe without Katakuri knowing. Plus, Luffy, of course, wasn't a fan of baths. He told the man that he hated the sleepy feeling he got in water. So that made one less thing Katakuri was worried about concerning the little boy.

The house was big with six bedrooms, though three were unused. There had been Katakuri's room, a guest bedroom and the others had miscellaneous things such as furniture, desks. Or even more books. One of them was dedicated to donuts; the only sweet he still liked.

He and Luffy both moved things out of the room Luffy was going to sleep in. He, of course, carried little things like tools and books. The ceiling of this house felt like the sky to little Luffy. Not only did the house need to be big enough for Katakuri to comfortable walk in, but the ceilings were also high for him. Like how high the ceiling of a house would be for a regular sized human.

Luffy fitted the red sheets on his new bed, the first bed he'd had in over a year. He had never had a bed after being taken. All his other masters had him sleep on the cold ground. He fluffed his pillow and set his stuffed bear on it. Then he put his toys on the window sill of the huge window near his bed. Luffy then jammed his clothes, in addition to the few that Brulee had made him, into his dresser. He couldn't wait for night to come and he could sleep in his new bed!

Despite Luffy wanting to be tired, he was so excited to sleep that he wasn't tired at all. Brulee had made food for them, since Katakuri was going to try and get cooking lessons from Pudding, not embarrassed anymore about it. He wanted Luffy to be healthy, and if they were going to be training, he'd need to eat healthier than just sandwiches and toast. Katakuri may be able to live off of minimal nutrients and a lot of donuts, but Luffy was a growing boy.

As Katakuri was cleaning the dishes and Luffy wiping the table (not very neatly), he told Luffy what they would be doing the next day. They'd be going on a run. When Luffy asked why, Katakuri explained that he wanted Luffy to be able to move at lightning speed, but as Luffy was now, he couldn't even sprint for a long period of time. "We are starting slow." Luffy pouted, arguing that he was good enough to start right off with being fast. "We'll see tomorrow, I guess."

Luffy had an easy time falling to sleep when he crawled under his covers, nice and warm, the door ajar with the light on in the hall, like a nightlight for the little boy. He slept deeply and had nice dreams of all the candy around him.

He woke up early the next morning to the sun shining from the large, open curtained window near his bed. He staying under his blankets for awhile, relishing in the warmth and comfort. He was so happy with Koori and he treated Luffy so well and nice. Luffy, though he still had hope as a slave to be free, still had part of him thinking he'd never sleep in a bed again.

He was so happy he was saved only a little over a year after being a slave to multiple noble families. He rolled out of bed, leaving it a mess of blankets, and hurried out of his room and down the hall to the kitchen, where he was surprised Katakuri was making food that wasn't toast.

"I'm making pancakes," the man said, sensing Luffy's arrival, and looked down at the little boy, who looked confused. "Pancakes are a type of breakfast, but really aren't cakes. I've never made them before, so they might not be good," he warned. But Luffy grinned and nodded, happy to taste something new, not that he was against toast.

He climbed the little staircase made from thick books next to his designated chair and waited for the pancakes to be done. He could see the sweet commander looking at a tattered book. He asked what it was.

"A cook book I managed to find in one of the book shelves. It shows how to make different types of food," Katakuri explained. Luffy cheered, looking forward to new foods. The stack of pancakes brough to him were pretty small. They were the size of plates you put unter mugs of tea and coffee. But Luffy didn't complain, and ate them with no toppings or butter. They were yummy, even if the edges were a bit burned.

"How were they?" the man asked as he finished his own much larger stack of pancakes. He himself thought they weren't too bad. And Luffy thought so, too, which the man was grateful for.

"Let's get changed and then we can go on our first run. I know a good place," Katakuri said, sending Luffy bustling to his room to change into his comfy clothes, similar to his pyjamas. His shoes weren't the best for running, but he knew Luffy would probably be fine, made of lightning after all. He didn't know if Luffy could get sore. But even if he didn't, Katakuri wasn't going to push him too hard at first. He was only five, and hadnt been exercising in a very long time, if ever.

"Wait! Your legs too long!" Luffy called from a little behind the massive man. For every one step he made, Luffy made six. Katakuri had forgotten how slow Luffy was to him, so he ended up on a very slow jog. Luffy was sweating a lot, and very tired, but he was determined to do his best, which Katakuri was not surprised with. He knew Luffy would do his best, and was impressed by it. He had a strong will.

Luffy had to stop to drink from the water bottle his "coach" was holding. They were running by the edge of the island, like a track, where no one ever went, due to the fact there was nothing out there, and it was far from any town.

After they ran a little bit more, Luffy had to stop, but he wasn't the one to say so. Katakuri had them stop and stretch after running, since Luffy's face and shoulders had gotten sun spots and very red. He was glad it wasn't too hot outside.

"Nice job," Katakuri praised, making Luffy grin up at him. He was so tired, which the large man could tell. He scooped Luffy up in one hand, making the boy giggle, and stuck him in the chest pocket of Katakuri's loose shirt. It was strange wearing something like that outside of home. And he still wore the scarf, despite it making his neck and face hot.

"Koori, why do you wear a scarf? Is not cold outside," Luffy asked. Katakuri said nothing for a moment.

"The scarf is important to me, so I wear it everywhere I go." Though Luffy wanted to question it more, Katakuri looked grumpy about it, so he just sat comfortably in the single pocket. No one saw them while running or their trip to and from home. Luffy wanted a nap, and was very hungry. Things were nice and quiet where they were, besides the birds in the trees not to far from them.

Luffy asked for pancakes again for lunch, and then the rest of the day he stayed in his new favorite spot, his bed. Or he looked at books the closest they could be to picture books. Mostly pictures of the chain of islands in Totto Land, pictures of food and family members. Pictures of ships. It was nice. Doing anything was nicer than what he'd been used to for so long.

For the next week, Luffy and Katakuri went on runs, and Luffy was steadily getting better and more fit. He had good shoes after the two had gone shopping at some stores, for food and clothes. He didn't need to buy him any more toys because, surprisingly, multiple of Katakuri's siblings came over and gave Luffy their own figurines. The house had been very crowded with so many there, playing with Luffy and talking with him about how his life had been. He easily left out everything having to do with his Devil Fruit, despite some of them having an idea of what Mama had talked about with lightning.

But if Luffy and his "dad" didn't want anyone to know, they said nothing. Well, except Flampe who was bugging her siblings to let her come to Katakuri's house, and when she was declined, she went off to pout and fume.

Katakuri had been the one to say no to Flampe coming over, saying her actions had ruined any chance of her meeting with Luffy, especially alone. While everyone was over, Pudding helped Katakuri learn to cook. He wasn't very good, but Puddnig was nice enough to not tease him.

All in all, having so many people in his house felt alien. He wasn't a very sociable person, and prefered quiet. Luffy didn't make much noise unless he wanted to play or was hungry. He had, along with the figurines, been given drawing supplies. He really liked all of Koori's family. They were nice! At least the ones he met that were nice at the Tea Party.

He liked his new life very much. He had food, a bed, friends, toys, and Koori. Koori was his favorite person ever. He was really nice to Luffy, even if Luffy never saw him smile from his important scarf that he hadnt mentioned again.

"_You a meanie!" four year old Luffy exclaimed once he saw a mean, ugly man riding a person with a leash. These mean people had docked at Foosha Village to get supplies, though the people who came off the ship were cruel and insulted the citizens. He was a Celestial Dragon, looking at the weakest sea for new slaves. _

"_Luffy!" Makino hissed, trying to pull him back into a kneeling position next to her. But Luffy didn't understand her fear. This guy was mean and ugly and Luffy could take him! He really couldn't, since the man had a gun, but he didn't back down from the nobles angry expression. _

"_You a real meanie! Why you on him!?" he shouted. But the man got off his miserable human slave and walked to the tiny boy, slapping him across the face. Luffy staggered backwards but then ran forward and kicked the man's leg. _

"_You dare touch me, you inferior filth?!" the man shouted from his bubble head. Luffy told him to shut up. Then the man shot Luffy in the foot. But the bullet went right through him. The slap had hurt him because he'd only recently eaten his nasty fruit and wasn't nearly in control over it. _

_When he had eaten the thing, he'd been very young. He'd been sitting on the floor at the bar near the window and away from the tables, playing with his blocks. He was being taken care of at Makino's Party Bar. There was a pirate crew there often, always laughing and drinking. Luffy liked them, especially when they played with him. There was a red haired man that played with him most. _

_One day, Luffy had stood up and toddled towards a black cloak resting on the bar above him. He pulled it down, and a small chest landed on the floor next to him. He was surprised and plopped down on his butt, giggling. No one had heard the thud of the chest over the laughter._

_Luffy banged his block against the shiny part, which opened up and revealed a pretty, swirly fruit. He held it in his small hands for awhile, tracing the swirls. It was pretty. And Luffy, well he ate anything he thought was pretty, or at least put it in his mouth. So he chewed on it with his little teeth, breaking off part of it and chewing the nasty thing, though he didn't spit it out. _

_He chewed on it some more, eating a lot of it, getting used to the gross taste. He liked how it felt in his mouth, so he ate most of it, filling his little belly with the blue thing. He was about to eat the stem when it was quickly pulled out of his hands by Shanks, who looked horrified at what was left of the powerful Devil Fruit. _

"_Mine! Meanie Sanks!" Luffy called, standing up to walk to Shank's leg and pat it angrily. _

"_Luffy, did you eat this?!" Shanks asked in worry and horror. _

_Luffy nodded. "Gross." _

_Then Shanks suddenly picked Luffy up and sat him on the bar in front of him. Luffy tried shoving at Shanks as he stuck his finger down Luffy's throat, trying to make him throw up the food. Luffy whined and cried at the finger in his mouth. It was very uncomfortable. Finally, Makino came over and stopped Shanks, pulling his finger forcibly from the boy's small mouth. _

"_Why would you do that, Shanks?!" she called, comforting a crying toddler. "It's okay, Luffy. Do you want to play with your toys?" Immediately, Luffy cheered up and was brought back to his play area to build his blocks sloppily, completely distracted. _

_The others in the crew looked at Shanks and Makino, all quiet, wondering what would cause Makino to scold the pirate captain. Shanks put his head in his hands, sitting down on the bar seat. "Dammit!" he shouted._

"_Oi, what's the problem captain?" Lucky Roo asked. Shanks just held up the stem of what had been the valuable Devil Fruit. "I thought you weren't gonna eat it!" Shanks had declined eating it, saying he never wanted a Devil Fruit in the first place._

"I _didn't. _Luffy _did!" he shouted, gaining Luffy's attention from the shout of his name. Everyone was silent before they all started freaking out. Luffy started crying at the loud screaming from everyone. That shut them up, though they were still concerned. _

"_Who leaves a Devil Fruit on a bar, Cap?!" _

"_No! That's not a valid complaint, he's only three! How would I know if he could knock it down and break it open?!" Shanks replied. _

"_Wait, is it bad for him?" Makino asked in worry. She looked to Luffy, who seemed just fine, and frowned. _

"_It depends on how you look at it. Devil Fruits give powers to whoever eats one. But it also makes you unable to swim. He'll drown if he's put in water. You probably shouldn't ever let him take a bath unless you're there too, or he might drown in the tub." Shanks sighed. "Well, it's not life threatening, though it could be dangerous for others if he can't control it. God, and this one is super powerful." _

"_W- what is it?" Makino questioned nervously. _

"_It's made his body out of lightning. It's one of the strongest Devil Fruits out there. But at least he can't be shot or cut. Little indestructible tyke." Makino looked confused. Shanks got down to Luffy's level and poked him harshly in the side, but his finger only went through Luffy's body. Makino gasped. Luffy didn't notice a thing as he played with his blocks. _

"_Don't worry. He'll be okay," Shanks said. "Hey, Luffy," he said, getting the little boy's attention. "It'll be hard to master it, but once you do, come find me. Here's a good luck charm," Shanks told him and put his straw hat on Luffy's head. It completely covered his head and it was down to his shoulders. _

_Luffy grinned. He knew this was something Shanks liked. And he was giving it to him!_

"_Piwat keen, too!" Luffy said happily._

"_Yes, when you are the Pirate King, too," the man said with a grin and a laugh._

_Luffy was shocked at getting shot in the foot and nothing happening. "Ahh!" he shouted. He knew that was supposed to hurt, but nothing happened! But the man shot him. With a gun! He backed away from him, an angry and scared pout on his face. _

_The world noble looked at Luffy in disgust and disdain before giving a wicked smile. "Take him with us. I'd like to break this toy," and Luffy was snatched up in the air by the scruff of his shirt. He thrashed, but he was tiny even for a four year old. _

"_No lemme' go!" he shouted. His hat fell off from the thrashing, the delicate string cut. "Hat! No!" he cried as he was dragged to the big ship that was docked at the village. Makino screamed for him, but the villagers held her back, saying there was no use. Though they wanted to save Luffy too, they knew if they tried, they'd either die or become slaves themselves. _

_Makino cried for him. She wished Garp had been there, but then she knew that he had no control over the world nobles. Plus, he hadnt seen Luffy in over two year. Did Luffy even remember him any more? _

_Luffy was stuck in a cage, angry and shouting at the meanies as they closed the door, putting him in darkness. He hadnt noticed the many other cages around him, housing other children or adults. Luffy didn't cry. He wouldn't cry, even if he was very sad and scared. _

"_There's no use struggling," a young voice said next to him, causing Luffy to jump. "Just do what they say, and hopefully you won't die." The voice sounded broken and lost. Luffy vowed to not adopt that voice and give into the meanies. _

_He was sold to a young Celestial Dragon, who behaved horribly. Just horrible. He shouted at others he saw below him and the slaves he already had were beaten and clearly broken. They had given up. As Luffy was dragged with the man with a new collar put on, he looked once again to the other slaves and again vowed to not become them. A vow he reminded himself of every day for every minute was was or saw someone tortured. _

_But, after Luffy being fine after taking blunt blows, he was returned. What fun was a slave that couldn't be hurt and wouldn't break even under emotional torture? Everyone had underestimated him because he was four years old. _

_The next owner gave him up quickly as well, for the same reasons. Plus, since Luffy couldn't be hurt, he behaved terrible as well, eating food that belonged to his master and her family. Making a mess, pestering for toys, etc. He was just too much work. _

_Even though to some, Luffy clearly had some sort of Devil Fruit, others who were listened to more, said that a young child couldn't handle a Devil Fruit. Luffy was just lucky. Of course, Luffy had no idea how to _work _his lightning fruit, there was no way for him to escape. And he didn't want to try running away with the bomb collar he'd seen explode on other people. He didn't know if he would be able to survive something like that._

_After the day that marked fourteen months since his kidnapping, he left his eighth master, and ran out on that stage, done with being a slave and being sold, only to be bought once again, by Katakuri. And he was not broken._

Luffy woke up in his bed, disoriented for awhile. That was a bad dream. It made him scared that one day he'd be sent back and sold again. But he knew Koori wouldn't do that. Still, it was a fear he couldn't shake off, even if he knew it was irrational. He stepped off his bed, still wrapped in a blanket, and went to go tell Koori about his bad dream and maybe sleep in his room. Somewhere he knew he was safe from being starved or berated and insulted. Or threatened, even though most of what they could do couldn't harm him.

He creaked open his slightly open bedroom door and padded down the hall, the blanket wrapped around him dragging behind him. He didn't think to knock before he opened Katakuri's door and walked across the big room to the head of the bed.

"Koori," Luffy said quietly, patting his hand to wake him up. "Koori? I had a bad dream."

Katakuri woke up to Luffy next to his bed, and didn't register that he wasn't wearing his scarf and the covers were not covering his face. "What is it, Luffy?" he asked groggily.

"I had a bad dream," Luffy repeated sadly. He looked up as Katakuri sat up on his bed and yawned.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, still not realizing Luffy could see all of his face. But Luffy didn't react at all, even though he could see Koori in the dark.

"Yeah…" Katakuri lifted him up onto the high bed next to him. "I had a dream about being took and being a slave. Everyone was all mean to me. I not wanna go back. I not going back, right?" Luffy asked with wide eyes.

"No, Luffy, you won't ever go back to being a slave. I promise. Even when I'm not here, or on a mission of some sort, you won't be alone and no one will have even a _chance _to get you again. Did anything else happen in your dream?" he asked. Luffy nodded.

"I remembered how I ate the gross fruit. I was a baby and Shanks had it but I ate it and then he gave me his hat but I lost it when I yelled at the dragon and he took me and I was a slave for lots of people. Then you save me!" Luffy finished happily. Katakuri was surprised to hear that Luffy had eaten the Devil Fruit so young.

"Koori, is your mouth why you hide in your scarf? I don't think is that bad," Luffy said simply. The man's eyes widened. He hadnt even realized he wasn't wearing it! But he was shocked yet also not at all surprised by Luffy's reaction.

"It… doesn't scare you at _all?_" he asked warily, really wanting to snatch the scarf off the table and hide his gruesome mouth. Luffy shook his head no.

"No, I not scared. I suppose to be scared?" Luffy asked, turning his head in confusion. But the man smiled at him.

"No, I just thought you would be. Do you want to sleep in here the rest of the night?" Katakuri offered. If Luffy wasn't afraid of his face, there was no reason he couldn't sleep with him after a nightmare. Luffy nodded and laid down next to Koori's head on the large pillow and wrapped himself in the blanket he'd brought with him. He fell asleep easily. Before Katakuri did too, he looked at Luffy, immensely glad he'd adopted him.

**Disclaimer: the way I portrayed young Luffy was the way I wanted it. I'm sure lots of three year olds can talk better, but all children are different and this is how I wanted to make him. **

**Hope the fluff was cute! Big Mom won't be back for awhile, but she's always present in the back of poor Katakuri's head...**


	5. Time Separated

**Here's the next chapter! 3 more after this one. Sorry about this chapter being so short. Next one should be longer. Enjoy~**

**p.s. I hate Flampe. **

Luffy didn't notice, but Brulee did when she came over, that Katakuri was much happier being around Luffy now. She had a feeling it had to do with her brother _not having his scarf on!_ He made eggs and bacon for breakfast, which Luffy loved. Brulee had some too and was amazed that he had cooked them well. She'd never have seen he'd cooking real meals one day. Or smile like he was at someone, anyone.

After breakfast, after Luffy said he'd train by himself by running around the house, with Katakuri's haki focusing on him, she asked what had happened. Why he wasn't wearing his scarf. He smiled.

"Last night, he saw me without the scarf and didn't freak out at all. And then he said he didn't think my mouth was that bad and he wasn't scared. I didn't even notice that he could see while he talked to me. He didn't even give a reaction. It surprised me, but at the same time, I feel like I shouldn't have been. After all, he wasn't afraid of Mama at her scariest.

"He told me he ate his Devil Fruit as a baby, and that he yelled at a 'dragon' (which I assume he meant a Celestial Dragon) when he was caught.

"I have heard people claim that young children can't eat Devil Fruits, but obviously it's just a rumor. But really, who would let a baby or toddler eat a Devil Fruit? I don't know if it was the same back then, but since Luffy eats whatever looks edible, I'm not surprised. Devil Fruits do look appealing, though they taste horrible." Luffy ran back into the room, bouncing up and down asking what they were going to do today. Where they were going to go on a run.

"We're changing the training now. We're gonna start sprinting, but not for too long. Run really fast for a short time," Katakuri elaborated. Luffy nodded and ran to his room to get his comfy clothes, pulling on socks and little tennis shoes that were bought for him.

He hurried back into the kitchen where Brulee was sitting. Her brother had gone to change himself. Luffy grinned at her. "I got better at running! You should come with us," he said happily.

"I'm not much into exercising. Besides, I'm sure Katakuri likes running with you more."

"I like him. He's nice to me and takes care of me," Luffy told her. She smiled.

"I'm sure he likes you, too, Luffy." Luffy grinned in response.

Luffy and Katakuri were in his large backyard, which Luffy had played on the swings that some of Koori's siblings made for him. But they were out here for Luffy to sprint from one edge of the fence to the other. It was proving tiresome, but he never gave up, like usual. He'd never thrown in the towel even when he was so tired he was hurting and sore.

Koori wasn't running with him, considering he couldn't sprint with how big his footsteps were. He timed Luffy, who was a slow sprinter, but they both knew he'd get better, like he had with the long distance jogging.

This continued for a few days, and soon turned into tag, which was foreign to Katakuri, but Luffy wanted to do that more than just sprint back and forth. Plus, he had to be fast for the large man could catch up to him in only a few steps.

"No! Not eat me!" Luffy laughed as Katakuri chased him around, telling the little boy that if he was caught, he would be eaten whole. Of course, Luffy knew that wouldn't happen, but this was fun anyways.

Katakuri had also been studying up vigorously on cooking, making Luffy large and healthy meals. He himself was also feeling better with eating healthier than he used to. Everything had been turned upside down when he took in Luffy, and he wasn't upset about it. Not even a little.

But, eventually, duty called and Katakuri was sent on a job from Big Mom. He didn't decline for the sake of Luffy the most. When he told Luffy, he took it in stride, even though he was sad Koori was leaving. But he assured Luffy that he could see him through mirrors if he was with Brulee, who would be babysitting him while Katakuri was on his mission. No one told Luffy the mission involved killing. Luffy didn't need to know that.

When the news that Katakuri would be leaving for awhile, and Luffy of course wasn't going with him, spread, many of the man's siblings offered to babysit him or take him somewhere. Katakuri made sure to tell everyone that if anything happened to Luffy while he was gone, they'd have hell to pay.

"Okay, Luffy. I'm going now. Make sure you are a good boy while I'm gone. And practice with Brulee while I'm away. Okay?" Katakuri asked as he crouched in front of Luffy. The boy nodded his head vigorously.

"I will be good when you're gone! Promise," Luffy said with a smile. He was going to miss Koori, but he'd be back. "When I get stronger, I can go with you!"

"Maybe someday, but you have a long ways to go until then." Luffy gave him a hug and said goodbye as they walked to Katakuri's docked ship, his crew already on. They waved to Luffy from deck and told him they'd take good care of Koori for him. The man turned around and scowled at them. Of course it wasn't a dangerous look, just telling them to shut up, which they did.

Katakuri waved to Luffy as the ship sailed away. Luffy immediately ran back home, Brulee having trouble keeping up with the boy who was in good shape after all the training he'd been doing for the past couple weeks.

The rest of the day, Brulee supervised him in the backyard while he sprinted, much more boring without Koori there. When he took breaks for water or just to rest, he went inside to play with his multitude of toy figurines of all of his aunts and uncles (to him that is).

The second day, a reluctant break day ordered by Brulee, he wanted to see Koori, so asked if Brulee could let him see him through the mirror. He was a bit sad when Katakuri didn't answer the transponder snail, but Brulee was not surprised. He was on a mission after all, and those demanded full attention. Oh well, she'd call later, before Luffy went to bed.

Since it was a long wait for night time to come, his first baby sitter came to get him. It was Pudding, who was going to bake food for the little boy. He was very excited to do so and had fun on the flying carpet they both sat on to get to Pudding's home.

He wanted to eat her house made of chocolate, but he refrained and spent his time watching Pudding bake delicious cakes and food for Luffy to eat to his heart's content. Katakuri wasn't there to tell Luffy or Pudding that he had a limit to his sugar intake. Luffy didn't realize that it wouldn't help him stay in shape by binging on sweets like no tomorrow, but he had fun and everything was delicious!

"Pudding, why do you cook?" Luffy asked as he ate brownies with powdered sugar on them. "It makes a mess." Pudding sipped her tea.

"It's fun to me. Plus, by the end, there is delicious food to eat or share with others," she explained. Luffy hummed and shoved another brownie into his mouth, not trying to be neat, not that Pudding really cared if he got chocolate on anything. Cleaning wasn't hard, especially since her baking made a mess sometimes anyways.

"I'll bake you some more some time. I'll make you a big cake and you can get Katakuri to eat it, too. He doesn't like sweets too much." Luffy cocked his head.

"He like donuts I think," he replied. "Lots'a donuts!"

"Really?" Pudding asked, surprised. She hadnt known her brother like _any _kind of sweets. Maybe she'd make him some some time, even if he probably wouldn't accept it, liking donuts or not.

There was a knock on the mirror on Pudding's wall, which was Brulee coming to get Luffy. It was dinner time and Luffy had wanted to talk to Koori before he went to bed. Luffy hopped off his chair and ran to the mirror. "We going home now?" he asked happily. Brulee nodded and reached her hand out of the mirror to let him in.

"Bye Pudding! Your food was yummy," Luffy said cheerfully.

"You're welcome back any time," the young woman replied. Luffy took Brulee's hand and they walked through the mirroworld to Katakuri's mirror. Pudding cleaned everything up, smiling about the way Luffy seemed to radiate cheerfulness, rubbing off on those around him. No wonder Katakuri adores him. She might not see them much, but it was clear the few times she'd come over to help him learn to cook. It was strange, but endearing.

**line**

Luffy swung his legs over the crate that was his booster seat as he waited for Brulee to finish her cooking. She wasn't the best cook, but at least she didn't have him eat only toast and sandwiches. She made pasta, which Luffy was happy with. He was so hungry.

"After we eat, I can see Koori, right?" Luffy asked as he ate his spaghetti.

"Yes, I'll try calling him again, and we can see him through the mirror." Luffy cheered, eating faster, wanting to see Koori as fast as possible. Though he hadnt improved in his sprints, he was still doing them, even with his coach not present. He also left the house, which he hadnt done in a while. Last time was when he and Katakuri went clothes and shoe shopping in the town. The two lived further from the town, somewhat between the coast and forest. No one bothered him there. Luffy only went with him when he went into town to do his business as boss of the island while in his pocket. Citizens didn't know why he had Luffy, or even if he stayed in the same place as him.

They'd be surprised to know the cold sweet commander Katakuri had taken in a little boy. More like a son now than a student, or whatever he'd been before.

Luffy sat in front of the huge mirror in the living room as he waited for Katakuri to answer the transponder snail. Finally, he answered, and Luffy could hear Brulee in the kitchen asking him if it was a good time to see Luffy through the mirror. He started bouncing slightly, excited to see Koori. Luffy wondered how his mission was going, and what it was. He wished he could have gone, but he would be able to go if he were stronger. If he could protect himself.

The boy had really liked the sea, and being on the pirate ship. The people there were nice and fun. And the sea and sky had been so pretty. He wanted to go back, too! Oh well, this was a reason he had to keep training to get stronger. So he could be with Koori more.

Luffy jumped up in excitement when Brulee came over and Katakuri appeared in the mirror as if there was a window between him and his boy. Katakuri smiled at Luffy. He could only tell that because of the crinkles in the corners of his eyes, since he had his scarf on.

"Hi, Koori! Guess what?" Luffy asked excitedly, not waiting to get into his conversation.

"What is it?" the man asked kindly. Luffy stood up and told him that he was still practicing at home, and that he'd be better when the sweet commander came back home. He told him about his day with Pudding, and asked what he had been doing away. Katakuri said he was delivering some important things to another person far away. In reality, it was an assassination he had left for. Some idiot pirate crew had messed with one of Big Mom's protected islands. It was genocide on the crew of idiots.

The conversation wasn't long, since Luffy said he had to go to bed early that night to be able to practice a lot tomorrow. Katakuri wished him goodnight and then talked to Brulee about how it had been going. Of course, he wasn't surprised that Luffy was behaving well, like the little boy had said he would.

Katakuri had been bored on the ship, with things _too _quiet. Something he thought he'd never think. He missed Luffy already, but was trying not to hurry with the job to show Mama he can do his duties just fine while still having Luffy to care for. When he did get to the crew they had found came into view, Katakuri left no time between docking and finding the unfortunate pirate ship, which thought they'd stay safe in the docks after hurting an island protected by Big Mom. What idiots. They were easy to kill.

After they'd gotten rid of the bodies, Katakuri headed into town to look for some sort of souvenir for Luffy. He came across an expensive panda cup with built in straw. Luffy'd love it. It was going to take time to get back to Totto Land considering the weather at present. The ship was docked at an island while one of those spontaneous and devastatingly destructive storm struck.

If the ship ever did sink or catch on fire, there was the fallback of Brulee's mirror dimension to evacuate through, though that would be thoroughly embarrassing to all of Katakuri's men and he himself.

At least this gave Luffy time to get better at whatever he was training with at the moment.

Luffy stood in the backyard, frowning at what Brulee was saying. He hadnt improved and it had been days after Katakuri and he had the first mirror talk. Luffy said he'd be better, but right now he was no different than before. He was worried he'd disappoint his father figure. So he was working extra hard. But he was about to just give up for the day. Brulee had put the timer down and went inside to get Luffy some cold water and some left over lunch.

Luffy'd try just one more lap to improve when she came out. Then he stared in horror as the plate of meat was falling onto the muddy grass after Brulee accidentally fumbled it. He shot forward to save the food but instead he rammed into the fence, the meat on the dirty ground.

"Ugh…" Luffy said, disoriented. "What happened?" he asked. Brulee was staring at him in shock, since Luffy had been on one end of the yard a second ago and was now here, a bump on his forehead showing from the harsh impact. But then she laughed. Katakuri would be very entertained to find out that Luffy finally used one of his powers out of desperation for his food not going bad.

"What happened?" Luffy asked again, wondering why Brulee was laughing at him.

"Luffy, you just used your Devil Fruit. It only took you a second to get from there to here. All because of your lunch." And she laughed again. More like cackled, but it didn't bother Luffy.

"Really?!" he asked excitedly, before he frowned at his discarded lunch, laying on the grassy ground. He could eat it still, but Koori would frown at that. He went to walk towards Brulee, only to shoot off again, and this time trip over a potted plant and skid across the grass, his whole front now having grass stains scrubbed into the fabric and skin.

"I don't like this…" Luffy mumbled as he again shot forward. Now that he could do it, he couldn't even control normal walking. Though he thought it was amazing that he could suddenly be somewhere he hadn't a second before, he was tired of running into things. So, he asked Brulee to just bring him food while he was in bed, because he was tired and didn't want to run into anything anymore. He was just hungry and wanted to go to bed. Plus, he was sad about all of that meat being wasted.


	6. Together Again

**Some drama in this chapter! Two more after this one and then it's the end! Enjoy~**

Luffy had asked Brulee not to tell Katakuri about him using some of his powers because he wanted Koori to be surprised. He just wanted to get control over it a little before the sweet commander came back. During the two days of Luffy non-stop practicing control, he was kept home and didn't end up going to any of his aunts' or uncles' houses. He didn't want to break anything or annoy anyone. Plus, he was a bit embarrassed about his difficulty with simply walking from point A to point B.

He was happy to be allowed to just rest in his bed for a long time, doing his best to not make a mess after eating in his bed. Brulee came in to check on him many times, but he didn't come out of the room, and eventually fell asleep without being tucked in or changing clothes. He found that using his lightning power made him a bit sleepy right afterwards.

He'd practice once again tomorrow, and he'd do it right! He wanted to show his improvement to Katakuri, and get a hug or pat on the head for his practice paying off. He wondered what kind of training they'd do next. He hoped he could do it well and quickly. Luffy really wanted to go on the ship with Koori next time. He both missed the man, and missed being on the fun ship. He was sure he'd be fine if he was with Koori. He could go on other islands! He'd not been on many islands, and many of them were a mystery to him since he was never allowed to be outside the home his former masters lived in.

Very early the next morning, a surprise came. Luffy was still asleep when the door to his bedroom creaked open. He opened his eyes slowly. It was still dark out, and he wondered why Brulee had come in so early. But then he heard a girl's dark chuckle and turned around. Somehow, Flampe had gotten into the house. And Brulee was nice and asleep in the living room, a dart in her neck.

Luffy sat up quickly. "You is the mean girl! Go away!" Luffy shouted angrily. "Out of my room!" Flampe just scowled at him.

"I really don't see what the point is of keeping you alive. You've turned brother against Mama. It's all your fault that things have gotten stressful!" she shouted, pulling out her pipe. Luffy frowned.

"Koori is happy with me, so go away!" Luffy replied. He didn't feel guilty about making Koori and Big Mom not close anymore. Big Mom is mean and scary and she doesn't deserve Katakuri!

"His name isn't Koori, you _baby_! It's _Kata_kuri!" she said irritably.

"If is not Koori, then is daddy!" Luffy snapped back. He didn't like the mean girl putting down his and Koori's relationship. And they were both happy, so her opinion shouldn't matter. As she headed towards him, going to slap him or something harsher, it was as if time stopped. Luffy ran to one side of the room and then everything was back to normal. Only he was across the room in the blink of an eye. He looked surprised he was able to control it.

Flampe looked very confused. Luffy huffed behind her, wanting her to get out of his special place. He would snap if she touched his bed. He would not allow that, the size and age difference between them aside. She was taller than he was, since she was ten years older. But she didn't act older. She was mean, and older kids are supposed to be nice to younger ones.

"Go away! Go back home, wherever you live!" Then he unwisely told her to not touch his bed. She smirked at him and she reached her hand towards his bed. "No!" he shouted running up to her and releasing light flickering lightning all over his body. "GO AWAY!" and the window behind his bed shattered.

Flampe looked at him in horror. She knew she couldn't fight against him because he was a logia Devil Fruit user. And sharp things go right through their bodies. Also, he was angry and very clearly couldn't control his powers. This kid would be a monster. She would tell Katakuri and then he'd be on her side!

She cautiously moved back towards the door, humiliated that she couldn't bring herself to fight a _five year old!_ When she didn't leave fast enough for Luffy's taste, he moved towards her angrily, causing her to bolt out of his room and outside, going back to wherever she came from.

Luffy looked at his window and bed and all the glass and started crying. He was scared about what happened. And how the mean girl had gotten into his house and room easily. And where was Brulee? How could she sleep through that?!

And he was ashamed that he'd broken the window. But… well, he'll just fix it himself and no one will notice. Luffy didn't want Koori to be mad at him. So Luffy left the room and went to the study, and pulled out a thick roll of packing tape. He was glad Brulee was asleep so he could fix the problem without her noticing. He'd do a good job. He would fix it.

Three hours later, most of the window was taped back together, and the shards that were not we covered with the clear plastic. Now he couldn't see out of his window, but at least he wouldn't get cold while he hopefully slept the remainder of the night.

But, before he tried to go back to sleep with one hour left before sunrise, he moved his mostly empty bookshelf in front of his bedroom door. It was hard for him, but he was determined to not let anyone else in.

He did eventually fall back asleep, but it wasn't as peaceful as it had been before Flampe intruded. When he woke up, the first thing he did when he remembered what had happened was pull his curtains closed to hide the shattered glass messily taped together. Then he left the room, moving his bookshelf back to the side and closing the door behind him.

Brulee was sitting on the couch, confused as to what had happened to make her so exhausted last night. She didn't even make it to her bed and she could have sworn someone was jiggling the doorknob. Before she could contemplate whether she locked the door, she was out like a light. She didn't hear anything that happened in Luffy's bedroom.

Luffy walked into the room, looking at his feet as he did so. He was still very upset about last night. His sanctuary had been invaded, and it made him feel violated. Someone mean came into his special space without his permission! He _hated _that girl. He never wanted to see her face or stupid outfit ever again.

Brulee could see clearly that something was bothering Luffy. And Katakuri had told her from experience that Luffy couldn't lie to save his life. "What's wrong, Luffy?" she asked at the kitchen table as he poked at his pancakes. He shook his head.

"Are you sure?" she asked, having a feeling he'd speak even if he said he didn't want to. And he did after a few minutes of silence.

"Was the front door locked last night?" he mumbled, now rubbing his finger around the rim of his plastic cup of juice. Brulee froze. And she asked why he would ask that. He told the truth and said, "A meanie broke in and came into my room. You were asleep."

"What else happened?" but she was not prepared for Luffy to start crying. Loudly.

"I- I did a bad thing!" he cried, rubbing his eyes with his fists harshly. "I made a mess and Koori will be mad at me!" Brulee stood up and walked to him to pat his head and she very patiently asked what had happened.

Instead of telling her, he got up and sadly walked to his room, telling her that he'd show her. When they entered the room, Brulee noticed his book shelf was in a different place than before. But everything else looked normal until he drew his curtains back and light came in. She gasped. "What _happened?" _

"She came in to hurt me I think, and I got mad and when she went to touch my bed, I broke the window by accident. I… I don't know what happened. But… I'm better at the running, so there's that!" he said with a shaky smile and voice, trying to divert the attention away from his messily put back together window.

Brulee walked over and closed the curtains for him, showing him that she wasn't angry. And she connected the dots that she was so deeply asleep because Flampe was the "meanie" who broke in last night.

"Was she going to hurt you?" she asked. Luffy shrugged. It didn't get far enough for him to know what she wanted to do by coming into his special space. _His special space._

"I don't know, but I was really mad and then the window broke and she run away. She was scared after the window broke with this bright light. She said mean things to me, and put down me and Koori. She said that is my fault that things are bad between Koori and his mama. Then she got madder when I said Koori was daddy." Luffy paused. "Will he be mad at me?" he questioned very softly.

"No, I'm sure he won't be angry or upset with you. I think he'll be more upset with Flampe and what she's done. Don't worry, Luffy. Katakuri would never be mad at you for something you can't control like this. He might even be impressed your powers are coming along. That's exciting, right?" Luffy nodded slowly.

He was scared. He was scared he'd hurt someone or break more things by not being able to control his awakened and uncontrollable abilities. Luffy wanted Koori there instead of Brulee because he knew his lightning wouldn't hurt Koori like it could Brulee.

Katakuri called Brulee's transponder snail when his ship was a few hours away from the start of Toto Land. He was looking forward to seeing Luffy again. When Brulee told Luffy Katakuri was calling, Luffy immediately closed himself off and looked away and at the wall behind him. Brulee sighed. She'd talk to Katakuri about it and have him tell Luffy he wasn't upset. She knew he wouldn't be. Besides, a broken window was replaceable and inexpensive.

"Hi Katakuri," Brulee answered.

"Hey. I'm almost back to the island. Is Luffy there?" he asked, wanting to talk to the boy. No one answered for a moment. "Brulee?" Luffy had walked back into his room and shut the door quietly.

"An incident happened last night, and Luffy's afraid you'll be mad at him about it. So he doesn't want to talk at the moment."

"What happened?" Katakuri asked very seriously. Luffy didn't cause trouble and definitely not on purpose. What could have happened that was bad enough to silence _Luffy?_ The boy almost never misbehaved. He really wondered what Luffy had done. Or what he _thought_ he'd done wrong.

"Flampe seems to have broken in last night. She went into Luffy's room and threatened him. Apparently he then shattered the bedroom window by losing control. He tried taping it back together. He thinks you're going to be very mad at him." Katakuri said nothing over the phone. He was steaming in rage. Anyone around him would have felt crushed under the haki he was emitting. Damn Flampe! What did she think would happen by provoking Luffy?!

Wait… what did he lose control of that would shatter a window? So he asked.

"Luffy's powers seemed to have awakened. He wanted it to be a surprise, but I know he'd want to know you're not mad more than have his progress be a surprise," Brulee replied. "Are you mad?" she asked.

"Of course not. Not at Luffy. Can you get him? I'd like to speak with him about this."

Brulee carried the device to Luffy's room and opened the door slowly. Luffy was curled up in his bed under the blankets. "Luffy, Katakuri would like to speak with you." Luffy gulped and slowly uncurled himself and sat up. His face was red like he was going to cry. Brulee gently handed Luffy the snail.

"...Hi Koori…" Luffy said quietly.

"Hey Luffy. I heard about what happened. What did she say or do to you?" Katakuri asked. "I'm not mad. Even if you broke the window, I'm not mad."

"She was mean to me and said that it was my fault that Big Mom and you are in a fight. She called me a baby again! She was going to hurt me with her straw and then I ran around an she almost touched my bed! So then a light went off and my window broke and she left. I hate her!" Luffy said angrily.

"Did anyone get hurt?" Katakuri asked calmly. He was beyond irritated with Flampe and what she was saying to Luffy. He would make it clear that she would be best off not being around Luffy ever again. Katakuri wasn't going to just let her get away with it because she was a sibling and also young. But, she upset Luffy, and that was unacceptable. Breaking into their home and going into Luffy's room was inexcusable.

"No," Luffy replied.

"I am not upset. But I heard about your Devil Fruit working. Show me when I get back, okay? I'm almost home."

"Okay!" Luffy said, his somber mood lifted by Katakuri saying he wasn't mad and that he was almost home! "I'll meetcha at the docks!" Luffy then run off into the back yard to practice as best as he could at electrocuting a rock.

Brulee smiled and told him she looked forward to seeing the reunion. Katakuri was excited as well. The last couple of weeks he was away proved how boring his old life used to be. With Luffy, there never seemed to be a dull moment except when he was napping. Even if the times where Luffy wouldn't - or couldn't- calm down and just zoomed around the house, at least it wasn't boring and was actually entertaining as long as he didn't hurt himself or break anything else. He had missed the boy, and was excited to see how his powers had awoken. And Katakuri would teach him how to control them.

Then there was Flampe to think about. How would he get through her big, cocky head that she would dearly regret ever approaching Luffy again. He couldn't exactly kill her. She was part of the family and therefore it would be highly looked down upon if he killed his sister.

An annoying sister who was obsessed with him. Even though he was over 30 years older than her and clearly didn't like her. Of course Katakuri could always watch out for her and then, if she did come, he'd do his best to let out his anger through terrible haki at her. But he didn't want Luffy to be around when he released his haki. He didn't want to scare the boy. Though, Katakuri was unsure of whether he'd be scared, or think it was cool.

It was five hours later that Katakuri's ship docked and Luffy went zipping up the plank and jumped Katakuri. He grabbed Luffy under the armpits and thrust him into the air, causing Luffy to erupt into giggles.

"I missed you!" he shouted, thoroughly glad to have Koori back home. "Did'ja see me run?" he asked eagerly. Katakuri did know he was coming through his observation and future haki, but to any normal eye, Luffy disappeared. He sure didn't wait to show his favorite person his new ability.

"I couldn't. You were too fast," Katakuri said encouragingly. "I missed you, too. Things were boring on the ship without you," the man said as he stuck Luffy in his shirt pocket so he could carry his stuff in one arm back to their house. He was truly glad to be home and with his boy again.

A single mission had never felt so long.

On their walk home, since Brulee brought Luffy to the docks but then left early so Luffy could spend some time with her brother, Luffy babbled about everything that had happened while he Katakuri was away.

He talked about his training, and going to his aunts and uncles to play. He left Flampe out of the happy conversation. Katakuri couldn't help but burst into booming laughter that was rarely heard when Luffy told him how he'd only been able to run fast because he didn't want his food to spill. But Katakuri wasn't much surprised with that knowledge.

"And how's it been going _without _food motivation?" he asked as they entered their big home. Katakuri walked to his room and set down his things and then went to the living room and sat on the couch. Luffy crawled into his hand and out of the jacket pocket and was sat in the big man's lap.

"It's hard! I keep tripping and hitting stuff and make messes outside. I was okay when the meanie came," (his face grew angry but then relaxed), "and I was able to run around her. Then, when the window broke, she ran away. I think she was scared of me!" Luffy said, sounding somewhat satisfied.

"Let me see the window. I doubt she'll break into your room again after you showed her your powers." Luffy's face fell as Katakuri walked with him to the boy's bedroom. The man opened the curtain and saw the shattered glass held together by strong tape. He did his best not to scowl at how this had happened. Damn Flampe.

"I'm not mad, Luffy. It was an accident, right?" he asked patiently after closing the red curtains to hide the glass. Luffy nodded sadly. "It's easy to replace. Don't worry."

"Kay…"

"Do you want to go outside and show me your powers?" Katakuri asked, easily bringing back Luffy's bouncy mood. He cheered out a "yah!" and ran off to the back yard, his guardian following behind him, glad to be home.

The mission he'd just gotten back from really just felt like an inconvenience. He'd much rather just stay at home with Luffy than go around killing or hurting people he really had no problem with. But this was how it was, and he wasn't one to mope or dwell on bad feelings or thoughts.

As he made a chair on mochi to sit on, he watched Luffy zip around the yard clumsily. When Luffy tripped over his own super fast feet, he was skidded across the lawn and get green skids on his clothes, Katakuri had trouble not laughing. It wasn't at Luffy's expense in a mean way, it was just somewhat entertaining with his reactions to it.

By the end, Luffy was tired, and took a nap curled up in Katakuri's scarf bunched in his lap. It was nice being able to have it off again. Of course he needed to keep it on around his crew and those he met on the journey. He hoped he wouldn't have another mission soon. He didn't like being away from Luffy too long, and he wasn't strong enough to come with him yet, if Katakuri ever let him.

Many of his jobs involved violence, and though Katakuri had told Big Mom Luffy would be an asset to the family, that was _then_. Then, he had liked Luffy, but not like he did now. Now, he didn't want Luffy getting involved in the dealings with the Big Mom pirates. Maybe Katakuri could take him on easier and more simple jobs.

Maybe next time it's time to collect the special sugar once it's harvested on another island for Big Mom Luffy could go with him. Sure, everyone might think it strange that the sweet commander would go on a job to _collect candy._ But Luffy might enjoy it. Katakuri wasn't taking Luffy off this island without him being able to defend himself at least _a little._ So a trip away from his island probably wouldn't happen for a while. But Katakuri would make sure to stay with him as long as possible. Not just to train, but also to just stay with him and raise him how he saw fit and fun.

Summer turned into fall quickly, and Luffy was constantly tired. Not only was the weather affecting him, but he trained almost every day. During much of the time, Luffy was unable to leave the house. Not just because he was tired or just didn't feel like it, but he was still having problems controlling his speed.

One too many times of running into someone or something down in the town made Luffy not want to go much. He just wanted to get better at his powers!

Flampe hadnt shown her face since her attempt at whatever she wanted to do to Luffy. Part of that could be because of how Katakuri gave her a chilling glare during a second tea party since Luffy had arrived.

But for this one, Luffy was not present. The day before, he was having very bad feelings about bringing Luffy back to Whole Cake Chateau. Something was telling him _not _to take Luffy off their property. So the man trusted his instincts, though Luffy was bummed about not attending. He wouldn't get to eat the super yummy food!

Other than that, Luffy didn't much care about the other aspects of the party. He didn't want to see the meanie or Big Mom. He just really wanted to eat he yummy candy and get more toys like last time. Though he had an almost complete collection of the Charlotte figurines for the more prominent members, more types of toys were always welcomed.

So Luffy sat this one out while Koori went with Brulee. Luffy was left with one of Katakuri's crew members. They had missed Luffy, and looked forward to taking the boy with them on one of their next expeditions.

Katakuri had been fortunate to only get a few missions away from home, and they were hurried, though not too rushed. So Big Mom had nothing to complain about regarding Luffy, though she didn't like how distracted one of her "favorite" sons was.

Everyone were surprised when Katakuri arrived to the second tea party alone. He had many questioning looks by many of his siblings, but no one asked about it. Without the distraction of Luffy, Katakuri headed straight for the Yonko's table and sat down at it, ready to feel like the day would be wasted. But he had always been good at hiding any emotion from his expression, so he gave the look that he didn't really care about anything but sitting there at the table and sitting next to his mother as she stuffed her face with screaming pastries.

"So, Katakuri. How have the missions been going?" Big Mom asked after she took a long swig of chocolate milk.

"Fine," Katakuri said gruffly. "Been getting the jobs done quicker lately," he said honestly. And in a way that didn't mention _why _it was quicker. That it just was. Big Mom stared at him though, and he didn't make eye contact as he took a swig of rum. But not too much. Since the months ago he'd obtained Luffy, he'd stopped drinking at all.

"Is that so? Well, I'm glad everything is going well with them!" then she laughed and stuffed another cupcake into her face. Katakuri couldn't help but think of how damn clean of an eater Luffy was compared to his mother. Well, Luffy had been extensively been taught how to eat with manners, and the Yonko had not. No one would risk it and no one could say anything about it without being killed or their lifespans sucked away.

Then the real question that everyone was wondering came up. "So where is the brat?" Big Mom asked. She couldn't see Katakuri's eyebrow twitch. He sat up and took a small sip of his beer.

"He didn't feel too well today," Katakuri lied. But Big Mom was satisfied that it seemed her son chose her over who he considered his own kid.

"Will he be alright?" Pudding couldn't help but ask from the other table closely behind the main table. She pursed her lips immediately afterwards and looked back at her plate, not wanting to see her mother's angry expression.

"He'll be fine. Luffy's strong," Katakuri said simply. He noticed a few, tiny relieved smiles around him. Mostly the women, while some men grinned before chugging their own booze. Luffy sure had charmed everyone.

"That's good. Bring him next time and let's see how strong he is. Ma, mama!" Big Mom laughed. Katakuri couldn't help but throw an angry glance at the giant. He did his best to keep his haki normal. He knew no matter how strong Luffy became with his Devil Fruit, he could be beaten by Big Mom easily, even if she couldn't take his soul. She could always just squash him with a hand covered in haki. And Luffy's progress was slow, no matter how clear it was that he was trying his best.

But Luffy was only five. He had _lots _of time to learn. Hell, it had taken Katakuri decades to completely master his own Devil Fruit.

"I'll bring him next time if he's feeling up to it," the man replied in a stony voice with a just as stony face.

The tea party over all was the most stressful one he'd ever been to. Even more than the one Luffy had attended. He'd been worried about the boy's safety then, and hoping he wouldn't anger the Yonko, but he wasn't so attached to him at the time. Plus, he hated leaving Luffy on his own without Brulee or any other close sibling to make sure he's safe and stays out of trouble.

After Big Mom had finished all of her food and dismissed everyone, Katakuri headed straight to Brulee and they both made a beeline to the nearest mirror Katakuri could fit through. The second they were in the Mirroworld, he let out a big sigh. Brulee looked at him in sympathy.

"Let's go get you back to Luffy."

When the siblings reached the mirror connected to the sweet commander's and Luffy's home, Katakuri swiftly walked through it and into the family room, where Luffy was napping on the couch, covered in a thick blanket.

"Hey, captain," Luffy's babysitter said quietly, not wanting to wake the child up. "He behaved very well. He did try to raid the upper cupboards since he missed out on the sweets at the tea party, but that was it. Then he played with his toys," the man explained. Katakuri thanked him and dismissed him.

Katakuri picked Luffy up and wrapped him in the blanket before placing him in the tight pocket that the boy slept in often when the two were out someplace or just chilling at home. Luffy didn't wake up.

Katakuri wordlessly entered the kitchen and began to make a good hot chocolate for Luffy to make up for his lost sweets. Unsurprisingly, Luffy woke up when it was ready to be drunk, his food-senses firing off about edible content nearby.

"Hot chocolate!" Luffy cheered from the pocket. Katakuri set the mug sized for Luffy onto the table and sat the little boy at his seat. The man put some whip cream, chocolate drizzle and chocolate flakes on top. Luffy had stars in his eyes as he drunk the sweet drink.

"How the party go?" Luffy questioned between long sips. Katakuri took a drink of his own water and some bread to get the taste of all the sweets he was practically forced to eat to not make Big Mom mad off his tongue.

"Others were worried about you not coming. But it was a good thing you didn't come. And I'm sure Pudding will be happy to bake you some sweets on her own time. I don't think you seeing Mama would have been good right now. I don't know why, but I just had a bad feeling, so that's why I kept you here.

"I scared Flampe," Katakuri told Luffy with a small smile as the boy beamed. "Looked at her in a scary way and I'm sure she won't come after you again. Especially now that you can control your powers a bit more."

"Haha! The meanie is scared. I don't like her at all! I never wanna see her again," Luffy grumbled, but was easily distracted and back to his cheery self with Katakuri reminded him he still had some of his drink left.

"Now, it's getting late. Are you still sleepy or do you want to go to bed a bit later tonight since you had a nap?" Katakuri asked as he cleaned both of their mugs. At the mention of sleep, Luffy yawned widely.

"I go to sleep. Will you read to me before?" Luffy asked hopefully, as he went to his room to change into his jammies while the man followed.

"Sure. What would you like me to read?" he asked, sitting next to Luffy's bed so he didn't crush it under his weight and size.

"This one!" Luffy said as he picked out a worn picture book from his small collection of them on the bottom shelf of his bookshelf.

**Just thinking of Katakuri reading Luffy a bedtime story is so cute!**


	7. It Was Inevitable

**Second to last chapter! It's verryyy long. 7,000 words long. I couldn't find somewhere I thought it was good to split up. So the length for the chapter makes up for the length of the next. Enjoy~**

**Update: A lot of people are curious about Ace and Luffy's relationship. There isn't one. Luffy was five, two years younger than it was that he met Ace. They are still related through Garp, they just never met before. I don't mention Garp much, but he is still related to Luffy, but even he can't get Luffy back after going to a Celestial Dragon. :( Shanks met Luffy when he was still very young, but even as a three/four year old, Shanks had influence on him. There's always at least one person you can remember from being very young. Shanks is that person for Luffy. **

"I did it!" Luffy cheered as he held up a slightly sizzled rock. He'd finally been able to spark something with his lightning powers. The rock had a small scorch mark on it. It had been a few months of training with Luffy, and he was gaining some momentum of his improvement. He ran over to Katakuri and handed him the rock.

"Great job!" he said encouragingly and picked to boy up to toss him in the air. "Let's take a rest for the remainder of today. We can go to Pudding's and have her make a cake in celebration. How does that sound?" Luffy giggled and nodded, sat onto Katakuri's shoulder as they walked back into the house.

When the two walked into the large living room, Luffy jumped off of his guardian's shoulder and onto the couch. But he was lightly scolded.

"You know you aren't supposed to jump from my shoulder. You could get hurt, even if you have a logia fruit," Katakuri said seriously.

"Sorry…" Luffy replied. But he bounced back quickly, like always, when Katakuri got the transponder snail out. The one that connected to Pudding's home. He had dozens of the snails connected to certain members of the family.

"Hello?" Pudding's voice asked over the snail.

"Hi Pudding, Luffy -" Katakuri began, but was talked over by Luffy, who was on the floor at the big man's feet, so he had to shout to be able to get his voice to travel to the snail.

"Pudding, we want celebration cake!" he cheered. The two could hear the smile in her voice.

"Would you like to help me, Luffy?" she asked kindly. It had been awhile since anyone had seen Luffy due to his uncontrollable fruit. Katakuri still didn't want others to know about it. Flampe had told no one because she was still humiliated about being afraid of Luffy and whatever happened that night in his room.

"Yah!"

"We'll see you in a bit," Katakuri said in his gruff voice he talked to everyone but Luffy and Brulee with. After an affirmation from Pudding, Luffy hurried into his room to change and then ran back into the room to wait with Katakuri fro Brulee to come and transport them through the Mirroworld to Pudding's place. Brulee's Devil Fruit was truly convenient.

As the two waited, Katakuri read the paper while Luffy played with his figures. Whitebeard had gotten Fire Fist Ace back away from the execution and the military was in shambles after the crushing defeat. The government had lost a lot of marines in the war, including one of the admirals.

Whitebeard had been very injured, but healed just fine a couple months after the fight, around now. Then he was back to sail again in good health, besides the effects of his aging. Fire Fist Ace had been in hiding for a few weeks before he made an appearance again, destroying navy ships, probably still angered at being tortured in prison.

Blackbeard, the pirate who had turned in Fire Fist to the marines had been defeated at Marineford by Whitebeard. They didn't call him the king of the seas for nothing, after all.

So now things were a bit quiet compared to how crazy the paper had been during the time before and closely after the war. Katakuri couldn't help but be happy with that. With no problems out in the New World to potentially take care of for Mama, he was able to spend more time with Luffy.

Brulee walked up to the huge mirror on the wall and out into the living room. "Ready to go, Luffy?" she asked with a smile. The boy jumped up and stuffed one of his toys into his short's pocket and hurried over to her. Katakuri put the newspaper down and followed the two, heading for Pudding's house. Katakuri had been going with Luffy when he went to Pudding's house because he wanted to learn how to cook more for the little boy. He was very uncomfortable at first, but now it was just normal to go with him to learn how to make him sweets that he would enjoy. And healthy treats as well, which were few in totto land. How everyone weren't obese, Katakuri would never know.

"What's the celebration, Luffy?" Pudding asked as Luffy sat at the counter across from Pudding's large kitchen. She had a feeling he wouldn't answer, like always, but she really did want to know what he and Katakuri did out there at their far off home. Katakuri had never been a very social person and didn't go to family events besides the tea party, but besides when it was necessary to leave, he mostly stayed at home with Luffy, doing whatever it was they did.

"It's a secret. But it's a good secret cause I impooved," Luffy said happily as he swung his short legs off the bar stool.

"Well, I'm glad you improved in whatever you are doing," Pudding replied nicely. Luffy's "helping" her bake were just him handing her ingredients and taste testing if the batter was ready. Pudding was making a red velvet cakes with chocolate frosting. She hadnt made it before for Luffy, and the two didn't really notice Katakuri casually watching what Pudding was doing, storing away the steps and measurements in his good memory.

Since the red velvet cake was big enough for many people, Katakuri and Brulee ate as well. For once, the big man liked a sweet Pudding had made. Neither he nor Brulee had tasted it before. Pudding smiled at her siblings that seemed so much happier with Luffy. She wished Katakuri had been as social with his siblings as he was with Luffy. And for some reason, he really favored Brulee over everyone else.

But no one would ask him such things. No one wanted his angry stare directed at them. It made everything feel cold and was downright scary. Only Smoothie and Cracker really dealt with the hard questioned when they were needed to be asked. Smoothie minded her own business well, while Cracker had to shut up most of the time when he was with his larger brother.

"Pudding, how old are you?" Luffy asked curiously.

"I'm sixteen," she answered. She didn't feel like a teenager, and she felt she didn't act like one either. Almost all of her family lost track on how old she was based on her behavior, though she could get very moody sometimes. But she only really acted immature when she was angry.

"Really? You don't look that young…" Luffy mused as he shoved another forkful of cake in his mouth. Katakuri stepped in, since Luffy had already had two slices of cake and chocolate milk.

"Luffy, no more cake, okay? You don't want your stomach to be upset for training tomorrow, right?" the man asked calmly. Luffy knew he was right, but frowned at the leftover cake in the middle of the table. He put his fork down and pushed the plate a few inches away.

"Don't worry, Luffy. You can take the rest home with you to eat tomorrow after another day of training." Pudding didn't know what this training was, but she played along for the sake of Katakuri not having to repeat himself or have a sad Luffy later sometime because he wanted sweets he'd missed out on.

"Cool! Thanks, Pudding," Luffy said and then yawned. Despite just eating a lot of sugar, Luffy was tired from training that day. It was only late afternoon, but Luffy wanted a nap. "Can we go home, Koori?" Luffy asked. "I is tired."

Katakuri pushed his chair away from the table and took the cake Pudding had just put in a cake box. "Time to go, Luffy," Katakuri said and picked Luffy up by the scruff of his shirt to plop him down in the boy's vest pocket. "Goodbye pudding," Katakuri said over his shoulder as he and Brulee left for the Mirroworld.

Later, once they were home with the food put away for later, Luffy naped in Katakuri's scarf, which was in a pool on the floor in front of the couch he was reading on. The rest of the day was quiet, until the man got a call on his transponder snail. He froze but quickly answered the ringing phone so as not to wake Luffy with the noise. He just mumbled in his sleep and turned over.

"Yes, Mama?" Katakuri asked as he walked into the hallway. What he heard next made him frown. Time for another job. He'd been lucky to have not be saddled with any for awhile.

"_Yes, there is unrest in one of my islands, and due to that they have told me my candy __**won't be ready.**_ _Go get the candy and kill whoever gets in your way,"_ and then the phone was hung up. Katakuri sighed. What a stupid job. Why would he need to waste time doing something like that? He'd much rather be training with Luffy so he could…

Wait... This sounded like an easy job. One that shouldn't take too long. And when this had happened before, on the same island, once one of the Charlotte children had gone there, everyone had acted normal. Of course, right after they pirates left, the unrest broke out again. But after having what they had come for, no one gave any thoughts to what would happen on the island afterwards.

He walked back to the living room and looked at the pile of scarf and child. Luffy would be ecstatic. And Katakuri would have Brulee on standby if Luffy needed to be brought back home through the mirror. This was great! Luffy would love it. And with the rate he was improving at, he wouldn't be able to go on any jobs for a long time. But this one was relatively simple and easy, easy enough for Luffy to have fun, but be safe at the same time.

Besides, _no one _ever attacks Charlotte Katakuri unless they wished to die a painful death. So, if he kept Luffy on him in his pocket or something, no one would get to him, even if they wanted to. And Luffy had the added safety of Katakuri being able to see into the future and protect the boy if it was deemed necessary.

He'd leave the killing of those in the Yonko's way of her candy to his crew and the others who would go with him. He'd save the good stuff for just him and Luffy.

Dinner time came and Luffy woke up to the smell of pasta and yawned, hurrying into the kitchen and seeing Koori at the stove. The little boy climbed onto his kitchen chair to wait for food. Though he hadnt made a sound, even a person without observation haki could tell he was there.

Luffy, like usual, downed his first serving of food in record time, immediately asking for seconds. Katakuri was used to this by now and ate _after _Luffy got his second serving. Then he didn't have to get up in the middle of him eating his own food.

Luffy sat at the table, waiting to Koori to finish his food so Luffy could have some cake for dessert. He really liked the cake.

"So, Luffy. Did you still want to go on a mission with me?" Katakuri asked conversationally, looking forward to Luffy's reaction.

The little boy gasped. "YAH! I WANNA GO ON A ADVENTURE!" he shouted very enthusiastically. "Can I go, please please please?!" he begged with a very wide grin. Then he furrowed his brows. "But… you said I can't go till I strong enough," he pointed out, slightly confused though he wanted to go anyways.

"Well, it's going to be a simple job. We will just go to an island and pick up some special candy," Katakuri explained, leaving out that the candy was for Big Mom and this was a mission from her. "You should be safe with me in my pocket. No one bothers me. I'm too strong," Katakuri said with a smile to Luffy.

"With your big fork and mochi," Luffy replied with a nod, then taking a big gulp of his milk. "When can we go?" asked the boy, bouncing on his raised seat a bit. He couldn't wait to get back on the sea. Being a pirate was fun! Especially with Koori and his friends.

"We can go tomorrow. It shouldn't take too long to get to the island. I have to call my crew though and alert them of the job we're going to do." Luffy cheered and exclaimed that he was going to go to bed so tomorrow would come quicker.

"Brush your teeth before bed," Katakuri called as Luffy ran off as he did the dishes and put the cooking supplies away. He smiled to himself as he listened to Luffy hum excitedly as he brushed his teeth from the hall bathroom. He heard Luffy shut off the water and his feet pounding down the long hallway to his room, slamming the door shut and snuggling into his bed. Katakuri knew that from his observation haki.

Katakuri packed some things in a bag for both of them while they were on the ship. He called Brulee and informed her that he and Luffy would be gone for a couple weeks at most. She could always see them through the mirror, but she was secretly a bit bummed about not being able to be with Luffy for a while. Even if it was a little while, she truly enjoyed the boy's company and what he had done for her brother.

Katakuri collected Luffy's toys strewn about the carpet and put them in the little backpack for him. He had to pack his clothes tomorrow morning. The man was looking forward to going someplace new with Luffy. He was sure Luffy wasn't entirely happy only being at home, besides when he traveled through the Mirroworld.

He'd make sure Luffy had fun _and _he got the job done. Regardless of how much effort he actually puts into retrieving the candy. But really, it shouldn't be too hard. He would not kill anyone in front of Luffy, but he was positive no one would mess with him. There had been scuffles going on on islands before but candy was retrieved easily by those sent to do so.

But wow, this island had balls to let a war compromise _all of them_ from the wrath of the emperor. By not sending their own merchandise, it was threatening both sides of whatever disagreement the island had. But it wasn't his problem. There was something really good about being in his position. No one gave him bullshit, and he was mostly left alone by others. He liked the quiet, and now was content for Luffy to fill the noise.

Katakuri dialed all of his crew members, who were all scattered on his island, and told them to be ready tomorrow morning at the docks. They were to have the ship ready. Though Katakuri was more compassionate since Luffy, he was still the captain and his crew would do what he wished them to.

Luffy dreamed of having a tea party, though it was much nicer than Big Mom's. He was surrounded by the family who he liked, but sat at his own table with Koori and his toys. He had candy and cake and all sorts of meats laid out in front of him. Then, suddenly Koori was at the coast calling for Luffy to come to the ship.

The boy suddenly had tons of heavy bags with him full of toys he wished he had and leftover food that he would really eat all in one sitting. Katakuri quickly came over to picked up Luffy and all of his baggage to go on their adventure.

The sea was made of chocolate milk and Luffy was allowed to eat some of the ship, which was made of peanut brittle. And Katakuri didn't get mad about it at all. Over all, it was a dream with so much sugar an average person would vomit.

"Luffy," Katakuri said gently, waking up the sleeping boy so he could pack his things and they could go on the mission. "Time to wake up." Luffy just mumbled and rolled over, wanting to sleep longer. But when Katakuri said, "Don't you want to go on an adventure?" Luffy jumped up immediately and fell out of bed in his hurry to get ready.

Katakuri chuckled and picked him up to set him straight. "Time to get dressed and pack some clothes. I've already packed your toys," the man said. Luffy nodded vigorously and bustled around the room, changing his clothes quickly and pulling out random shirts and shorts from his dresser. While he did so, Katakuri picked out a few picture books to bring with them to help Luffy fall asleep. There was no doubt he'd be so excited sleep would be difficult out on the short voyage.

Luffy's backpack was full of toys, books and stuffed animals while Katakuri's pack was full of clothes and other various necessities. His was much bigger, so it fit more stuff. Luffy was wearing his jean shorts, a while shirt and a black hoodie that matched Katakuri's vest. They walked side by side, Katakuri walking much slower than usual for Luffy to keep up with his infinitely shorter legs.

Brulee was waiting for them at the dock with the ship ready to go from his crew already being there. Luffy bounced on his toes as the ship came into view. He hadnt been on it in a very long time. He could already feel the sway of the ship even though he was still on the dock.

"Will you stay near the transponder in case there's an emergency and we need your power?" Katakuri asked Brulee and Luffy ran to the ship with the man's permission.

"Of course. Have fun and be careful, okay?" Brulee asked.

"I will. don't worry about us. I'll tell you when we are on our way back. Please don't let Mama know I'm taking Luffy with me. If anyone asks where he is, say you are babysitting him and he's sick so no one can come over. Alright?" he asked, adjusting his scarf to make sure to cover all of his mouth. It really was strange now to cover his face when he spent the majority of his time without it at home.

"I will." Katakuri bid his sister goodbye and walked to the ship and up the plank. The sails were lowered and the ship sailed away towards their destination.

To say Luffy was excited was an understatement. He could not stay still. It was like he'd drunk a gallon of coffee and all the candy in Totto land. It was slightly ridiculous, but Katakuri wasn't going to spoil his mood. He just made sure to keep his observation haki focused on Luffy as he zoomed around the ship excitedly.

Games broke out between him and the crew, though Katakuri didn't take part in much of them. It was one thing to act fatherly and playful at home with just Luffy or Brulee there, too, but he just couldn't bring himself to be sappy and optimistic with Luffy in a more public setting. Thankfully, Luffy seemed to understand that, though he still spent time with his Koori by just sitting in his lap talking to him or lounging in his pocket after eating.

Luffy had been told not to run around or be extremely active after a big meal, though the boy still had trouble with not doing so when he was being a pirate again! He was taken up to the crow's nest by the person closest to being the first mate on the ship to keep watch for any enemy ships.

If one was spotted anytime, there was no doubt that the ship would either not approach them, or the "battle" would be over with immediately by Katakuri just taking the easy way out and using his Conquering haki to knock them all out and move on without any sort of violence. The big man did not want to expose Luffy to the side of Katakuri the boy was never meant to see. The sweet commander did wonder sometimes how Luffy would react to it. He was quite unpredictable after all.

But he didn't want to risk ruining Luffy's innocence and blissful ignorance about most things. Luffy spent the time he wasn't being overly active or with Katakuri just watching the sea. He seemed to be more happy about being on the sea than he was about going someplace new. Looked like Katakuri had a future pirate on his hands. Hopefully a good natured pirate. Well, that was up to Katakuri by raising Luffy. He had a big responsibility, and he would carry it out as best as he was able.

"Koori, I saw a big snake in the water!" Luffy cheered from the railing he sat sitting with his legs swinging through the bars and over the side of the ship. "It's over there!" he pointed off into the distance.

The man walked to Luffy from his chair on the deck and looked the way Luffy had been pointing and saw nothing for a moment before the head of a large sea king popped up. Katakuri picked Luffy up and away from the railing a bit just for safety reasons and said, "It's called a sea king. They're monsters of the sea and cause a lot of problems for both pirates and marines alike. They taste good if cooked right, though.

"You must be careful around them and not get eaten," he explained.

"Wow…" Luffy whispered. "It's so big! Is that the biggest ever of them?" the boy questioned.

"No, there are much larger ones. And there are giant whales and dolphins in the sea. Below the surface has a lot of scary and amazing creatures. That's why people must be careful in the ocean, especially Devil Fruit users, like you and me."

Some of the crew watched the two discreetly from other parts of the deck, smiling softly. They'd never voice it, but the two were very cute when they were together. They had been there when Katakuri first bought Luffy. He'd thought Luffy was a hassle at first, and he'd bought him because he saw potential in him as a fighter for the family.

Now, however, it was clear Katakuri had adopted the father role for the little boy. They wondered how things would work out.

"Koori, what other pirates like? There lots, right?" Luffy questioned as he sat in the folds of Katakuri's fluffy scarf.

Katakuri sat down on the deck as they both continued to face in the direction the sea king had appeared, but left. "Well, all of the family are pirates. And Big Mom is called a Yonko. An Emperor of the New World, which is where we live. There are other Yonkos. Shanks is one of them." Luffy perked up at the mention of Shanks, the man Luffy remembered as being fun and nice. "There is also a Yonko named Whitebeard. He has a very large crew, and he calls them all his sons. He's quite old, but is called the 'king of the sea' due to his strength."

"Even stronger than Big Mom?" Luffy asked curiously.

"Well, they are probably equal in battle strength, but Whitebeard has a power he could destroy the world with. He can create sea and earthquakes. He's a fiercive force. Then there's one more Yonko, named Kaido. He is not like Akagami Shanks or Whitebeard, and does not treasure his crew as the others do. I've heard his crew uses artificial Devil Fruits. It's very interesting.

"Then, there are the seven warlords of the sea. Those are pirates that the World Government elects to help out if there is a war of some sort. There was actually a war not long ago. The marines are in shambles after Whitebeard's crew defeated them and saved one of his sons.

"There are many types of pirates out there. Ones who bring hatred and harm to others, and then the more minority types that travel for the fun of it," Katakuri finished.

"Like Shanks?" Luffy asked, extremely interested in all of this. He wanted to be the Pirate King because being a pirate sounded fun by what he could remember of Shanks and the stories he told Luffy.

"I would assume so. He doesn't seem like the type to pillage and destroy like I have heard. He's the only Yonko without a Devil Fruit."

"Wow! That's so cool! I can't wait to be a pirate," Luffy said with a loud giggle. "I wanna go on adventures."

"I'm sure you'll be a strong pirate when you grow up. But you have a long ways until then. I'm sure if we keep training you'll be able to depart some time in your late teens. You have to be ready when the time comes, though." Luffy pouted a bit. He didn't want to wait that long!

"Did you always wanna be a pirate?" Luffy asked suddenly.

"Well, I didn't really have a choice. The Charlotte family are all pirates. I don't know if I exactly _wanted _to be a pirate, but it was all I knew, so it seems pretty normal," Katakuri replied. Luffy frowned a bit.

"Do you not have fun?"

Katakuri frowned. Did he even like being a pirate? Sure he was a pirate a lot, before Luffy came, but now? Honestly, it felt like a hassle when he had to go out to sea and do his job as a pirate under Big Mom. Would he be happier not being a pirate? He didn't exactly _enjoy _killing, but he didn't hate it either. It just was what is was.

He enjoyed staying home with Luffy more than boring jobs. If he was able to go anywhere he wanted, would he like it more? He didn't really think so. There was no real place he wanted to visit after all.

"Well, the jobs I go on are not exactly fun, but they aren't terrible either. I don't really pick where I go, Big Mom does. But, I accepted this job so I could take you someplace other than Komugi Island," Katakuri explained. Luffy was about to protest about going if it was just to help Big Mom, but another sea king popped up not that far away from them and Luffy was completely distracted.

It was strange to Katakuri to just sit with Luffy so quietly while he was absolutely enthralled with waiting for something to pop out of the sea ahead of them. Usually Luffy was a ball of energy, but he had become as tranquil as the sea was at the moment. Barely rocking the ship or making any sounds. The only sounds was the seagulls flying around the pirate ship.

**Line…**

The island the crew was heading towards was really not far from Totto Land compared to how far some other islands under the Yonko's name were. This was good, for Luffy was becoming very impatient. He got bored of the ship only three days after they set sail and kept asking the navigator "when will we get there?" over and over. Eventually, Katakuri had to tell him to please stop and they weren't going to get there any faster than nature wants.

Despite the cold, Luffy camped out on deck at night, wanting to look at the stars. Even at home there were some lights, but out here you could see so many more stars clearly.

Katakuri, wanting to make Luffy's adventure as fun as possible, camped outside with him, too. The sweet commander slept propped up against the mast with Luffy fallen asleep on his shoulder buried in the scarf. It really didn't look like the most comfortable position for him, but Katakuri didn't wake him once he passed out on his shoulder.

"Luffy, a storm is coming. Time to go inside," Katakuri instructed calmly as they sailed forward, into dark clouds. Luffy frowned and ran back inside. He'd never liked storms. Despite being made of lightning, he didn't like the thunder. And he was afraid of falling off the ship, or Koori falling off the ship. He went to the kitchen table and crawled under it into a ball.

The chef took pity on the boy and gave him some chocolate milk, telling him the storm wasn't going to hurt them. It would just be noisy for awhile. Katakuri was a skilled pirate and could control the crew seamlessly. Luffy just nodded, slowly drinking his milk while still underneath the table.

Luffy wasn't one to cry much, but the claps of deafening thunder and the violent tilting of the ship side to side was making him extremely distressed. Everyone was taking cover in the galley after they'd done everything to keep the ship and themselves safe from the storm. The moment Katakuri entered, soaking wet from the downpour, Luffy latched onto his leg, burying his face into the black leather.

Katakuri immediately picked him up and cupped him in his hands to make him feel secure. The boy was curled up between Koori's big hands. He knew Luffy so well and hadnt even needed to ask him what to do to make him feel safe and comfortable.

The man walked with Luffy to their shared room and tucked Luffy into his little mattress, wrapping him in a blanket like a cocoon.

"Better?" Luffy nodded. He was a bit embarrassed about how scared he was of it. The truth was he'd never really been in a storm like this. Even after he was first bought by Katakuri, the ship had met no weather troubles, despite being in the New World, on their way back to Totto Land. There had been a few storms back at home, and those made Luffy uneasy, but being out on the sea in the middle of one made him 100 times more uncomfortable with it.

But thankfully, the storm did no lasting damage to the vessel, and Luffy was asleep by the end of the rocking ship. The ordeal had drained him emotionally. Katakuri left him in the bedroom while he left to tell the crew to weigh anchor and that they would be stopping for the night since the storm had dissipated and the sea was calm for now.

Katakuri did sleep with his scarf on just in case, since he was not in the safety of home where he and Luffy were the only ones around. But he found it hard to sleep that night. Something was bothering him. They were quickly approaching their island destination, but he was feeling uneasy about it. He really should have done more research about the "unrest" on the island. That could be anything to Big Mom.

Well, they'd see either tomorrow or the day after. He was looking forward to getting rid of the suspense he was feeling. Plus, Luffy's "Are we there yet?"s were getting on everyone's nerves. Well, hopefully he'd be appeased soon.

Luffy bounced on his toes while holding onto his backpack straps, which was full of toys and snacks. Katakuri was sitting against the railing, watching Luffy in amusement. They had glimpsed the island a little under an hour ago, and it was slow getting there. Luffy hadnt sat down since they saw first saw it.

There was no sort of smoke coming from the island, or sounds of a war. It was relatively calm, so Katakuri wondered what the "unrest" really was about. As long as there was no fighting, Luffy should be fine. He wouldn't want to have to, but if there was war, Katakuri would probably just take the easy way out and go around whatever was happening. The candy factory was near the middle of the island, which was the only thing keeping Big Mom's protection over it.

They got closer to the harbor, and there were many ships, like usual. Only many of them were in disarray, ropes tied together in a mess. It looked like no one had set sail from the harbor in a very long time. Katakuri's eyes narrowed.

"Luffy, go inside for now," Katakuri said seriously. Luffy didn't protest and scurried inside, though he tried his best to see out of the porthole to the island they were visiting. But he stayed inside as they approached the docks. By now, the other crew members were uneasy with the captain's behavior. Was there something wrong with the island?

They finally pulled up to the docks and dropped anchor. Everyone waited for what the sweet commander was going to do. But he just stood there in silence, staring at the island in front of him. There was no movement, and he felt no one with his haki. But there was this horrible smell he was getting.

"Hello?" he called loudly. Luffy watched through the galley door window he was standing on a chair in front of. No answer. So Katakuri stepped off the ship. "Hello?" he asked again, growing incredibly uneasy.

Then he saw the first body on a ship across from docks on another ship. "Everyone, get the ship out of here!" he called. The body he was was not bloody, but it looked terribly sickly. Damn Big Mom! There was no unrest, there was some sort of illness that killed everyone off! That was the only explanation for the smell, dead body, and complete absence of life found in his observation haki.

He pressed his scarf to his mouth and nose as a filter and hurried to help his crew get the ship as far from the island as possible. Luffy was confused, and hurried outside to ask why they were leaving. Luffy hadnt even seen anything!

"Koori, what about the adventure?" he asked in confusion.

"Luffy, get inside now!" Katakuri shouted. He did not want Luffy exposed to anything unhealthy, even if it was from a distance and the disease might not be airborne. Luffy clearly took Katakuri's panic as anger and ran back inside, tears in his eyes. He hadnt meant to be annoying. Koori never yelled at him…

The sweet commander realized how his voice had come across, but he would go and clarify with Luffy when they were good and far from the island. "_Unrest" my ass, _Katakuri thought angrily. Because Big Mom had been very unclear and had not taken whatever the citizens had told her over the phone a couple days ago, Luffy could have gotten ill with whatever had killed the people on the island. Big Mom would get contaminated candy even if Katakuri had gone inland.

Katakuri might have been fine, who knows, but he was not going to go anywhere near _anyone _sick_, _dead or alive, when Luffy was with him. He felt bad for him. It wasn't exactly the best adventure, but at least he hadnt seen any of the bodies, for the state of the one Katakuri had seen was horrible.

Once the ship was sailing away, Katakuri called everyone into the galley after he went in to talk to Luffy. The boy was sitting in his seat at the table with a deep frown. The captain crouched next to Luffy's seat.

"I'm not mad, but there was a sickness on the island I didn't want you to catch," he assured the little boy. "I was just concerned for your safety." Then he turned to everyone else who had gathered. "We are not stepping foot on that island. Everyone is gone, and I don't want any of us getting sick."

The unasked question hung over them uncomfortably. What would he tell Big Mom? Would she care? Or would she have expected Katakuri to fetch the candy anyways? He himself didn't know what he would have done if Luffy was not accompanying him on this job. The smart part of him would have not attempted, but the stubborn and impatient part of him might have risked it just to not deal with Mama being upset.

Luffy frowned. Was everyone dead? What would they do now? Just go back home? He didn't like the thought. He wanted to go somewhere else! "Can we go someplace else?" he asked with big eyes, looking up at Katakuri.

"Well, I don't know if that would be a good idea," Katakuri said, frustrated with Luffy's disappointed frown. He wasn't frustrated with Luffy being disappointed, for he couldn't blame him for that. He was frustrated that he couldn't just decide for them to go on an adventure together. Go visit some place fun _not _on Mama's orders. But this was how it was. And he couldn't do anything to change it at the moment.

But Katakuri made a decision. "I'm pretty sure there's another island nearby who's special sugar cane is almost ripe. Do you want to go check and see?" he asked Luffy nicely.

"Yah!"

**Line…**

Katakuri was in the galley with the main transponder snail in front of him. He had to tell Mama about the island and her lost candy. And he had to be very careful not to show his anger at her though his voice.

"_Katakuri! How is my candy?" _Big Mom's voice ran out through the galley, extremely loud in the otherwise silent room.

"There has been a problem in the plan, Mama. The island has been ravished by some sort of disease. Everyone was dead. I couldn't step foot on it and your candy would have most likely been contaminated. I'm heading to collect the maple sugar cane as a replacement." Mama was quiet on the other end. Katakuri honestly didn't know what to expect.

"_Did you inspect the island before leaving? I really am craving that candy,"_ she said in a dangerously light tone of voice.

"I did not. When I spotted the first dead body along with the absence of life and stench of corpses, I did not inspect. I didn't want to risk being sick," Katakuri replied. He gulped, and was angry that it was audible. It gave him away.

"_Was that the only reason you didn't go? Hmm?_" the Yonko asked in a sickly sweet voice.

"No. That is not the only reason I didn't inspect further. I took Luffy with me, and did not want him to get sick. That's why I am getting you the other candy in the place of the last factory." Katakuri waited nervously in silence. He _hated this. _Walking on eggshells about the most important person in his life. Having to walk this very thin tightrope to keep Luffy safe from his mother's wrath about _ridiculous_ things.

"_Did his safety come before my command?"_

Katakuri didn't know what to answer. The truth? It would anger her greatly. But she would probably know he was lying if he did. "Yes. I wanted to keep him safe. Along with you and the family. If Luffy had gotten sick, he could have infected everyone, including yourself and me."

"_If he had gotten infected, you would have killed him before bringing him back-"_

"NO. I would not have killed him. If he got sick, I would take him to the doctor's before bringing him back," Katakuri said sternly.

"_... I have put up with him long enough Katakuri. You told me face to face that he would not interfere with your work in the Big Mom Pirate's family. And here he has stopped you from completing a mission! I want him out," _Big Mom practically screamed. "_FOR GOOD."_

"_No_, Mama. You may not care for the wellbeing of your children, but I do for mine. If you won't let him come home, then I won't be coming back either. Make your decision," Katakuri said darkly. His own eyes widened in panic at what he'd said, before his resolve hardened and he realized that this was going to happen sooner or later.

Then Luffy walked in.

"Koori, I had a bad dream-" he muttered, wrapped in a blanket with a stuffed bear in his hand. Katakuri looked at him and furiously shook his head and put his finger in front of his lips. Luffy understood and became silent.

"_You would choose that little brat over your own mother?"_ Luffy's eyes widened when he realized Koori was on the phone with Big Mom. And she was mad. He watched Katakuri's eyes as they hardened and glanced to Luffy. Luffy's mouth opened when he heard what the man said next.

"Yes. I treasure Luffy more than I care for or respect you." Luffy smiled shyly when Katakuri looked to him with crinkled eyes, unable to see his smile due to the scarf, clearly making sure Luffy had heard his words and knew he meant them. "I've played your games long enough, Mama. If your going to treat Luffy like garbage, then you no longer get to call me part of the Charlotte family."

And he _hung up. _

He just stared at the sleeping snail for a moment, shocked at what he'd said, but not regretting for he knew now it was always going to end up like this. And he had little time left.

He immediately called Brulee until she answered sleepily. It was late at night. "Come to the ship's mirror now." Brulee heard the urgency in his voice, and was in front of the man in the mirror in minutes. "Luffy, I'll be back in a little bit. Just stay calm, okay? Try and go back to sleep," Koori said kindly before hurrying through the mirror and running off with Brulee towards the mirror leading to their old home.

Luffy looked at the sleeping snail in shock. Koori chose him over his own mama? He grinned, content tears spiking in his eyes. But then he realized he probably won't go back home. Where would they go? Would he get to see Pudding again? Was Brulee coming with them? He knew Koori liked her, so many she'd go with them, wherever they were going now.

The snail suddenly rang again. Luffy just stared at it. He knew he shouldn't answer, but maybe she was gonna apologize? Probably not. But he made the decision to answer it anyways, though he didn't speak. He wondered what Big Mom would say.

"_You will regret this, Katakuri! You will get sick of that little twerp and by then, you will have no family left!" _

"No! Me and Brool are his family. Not you! You is a mean person, who is mean to your kid. We will be happy without you!" Luffy shouted and pulled the machinery off of the snail, his heart beating quicker than it ever had before, even when using his lightning powers at full force.

He worried about Katakuri and Brulee, so he waited nervously in front of the massive mirror.

**Line…**

"What's happened?" Brulee asked as she and Katakuri sprinted through the Mirroworld to get to Katakuri and Luffy's house.

"I back talked to Big Mom and am probably now on her hit list. It was going to happen sooner or later," Katakuri said in a hard voice. "Will you come with us?"

"Of course."

When they got to the former sweet commander's former home, he just ran around the house picking up toys and stuffing them in his pockets, pulling framed pictures off the walls of Luffy, along with the transponder snails that connected to Oven, Smoothie and Pudding. The rest could just stay, and he could hear some going off that weren't those three. No doubt Mama was throwing a tantrum and everyone knew by now.

Brulee pulled out all of the cash in Katakuri's drawer and some more clothes of Luffy. Neither had anything in any bags. Objects were shoved in pockets or in bundles in their arms. Katakuri didn't hesitate to quickly light a candle and set the place aflame. They were never coming back. It made him sad that his first house with Luffy was gonna be gone, but wherever they went now, it would be up what they both wanted. Though he knew it would be dangerous probably, a life away from the Big Mom Pirates was starting to sound nice.

But he realized he'd probably doomed his crew. Well, none of them really had any family to go home to. But he'd give them the option to stay or just go on their own ways or return to Totto Land. Katakuri didn't exactly need a crew if he was no longer a pirate.

Katakuri said goodbye to his home one last time by shattering the mirror behind him after he and Brulee entered the mirroworld. Katakuri and Brulee set the man and boy's things down and hurried to Brulee's place before hers was raided and it would be too late for her to get anything.

Luffy backed away from the mirror when the two adults walked through with massive amounts of clothing and random objects in their arms. Katakuri set down the three transponder snails he'd kept on the kitchen table, where the other snail was just sleeping, the machinery off and strewn about.

"What now?" Luffy asked curiously.

"First, we get far away from Totto Land," Katakuri said before crouching down and giving Luffy a big hug. "Now we don't have to live with Big Mom making me do things we don't want to," he said with a smile.

"But, what about everyone else? Your family?" Luffy asked in the hug.

"The Charlotte Family was pretty crowded to me. Now we're our own little family. I do have an idea of where we can go. Or at least aim to go. Someplace Big Mom would think twice before going to. Then we can live how we want there. How's that sound?" Katakuri asked Luffy as he sat on his shoulders. There was no way he could sleep now.

"Yah!"

**Review!**


	8. Life After

**It's the last chapter! Short because it's much more like an epilogue. I hope it seems cute and a good ending! Enjoy~**

"What do you want for dinner tonight?" Katakuri asked Luffy as Luffy sat at their newer kitchen table.

"Pancakes!" It had been five months since Katakuri and Brulee "betrayed" the Charlotte family. Brulee lived closer to town on the Whitebeard protected island the three plus Katakuri's old crew lived on. Being on a Whitebeard protected island had kept Mama away. She may be a Yonko, but even she couldn't defeat Whitebeard on her own, especially without the aid of Katakuri being one of the main fighting forces.

The man, however, had not been happy about Katakuri's sudden presence on his protected island. It had been two weeks since they arrived that the Whitebeard Pirates came to protect their island from the powerful Big Mom Pirate after they were called in hysterics after the first sighting of the ex-pirate by a villager.

However, Whitebeard and his strongest commanders were surprised to meet Katakuri and a little boy, both loaded with bags of groceries on their way to their little temporary home before they made their own. To say the strong pirate crew were confused was putting it lightly.

Katakuri had no inkling that the Yonko would be hostile with him as long as he wasn't in return, so he calmly explained that he was no longer a pirate or a member of Charlotte Linlin's family. Whitebeard had the grace to not be too nosey, and could tell Katakuri wasn't lying by recognizing the sincerity of his care of the little boy he said he was raising.

There was an agreement that Katakuri was allowed to stay on Whitebeard's island if he didn't cause any trouble, which the former sweet commander easily agreed to. So he and Luffy just became neighbors who lived further out in the woods and would come down to town to shop for things or get dinner.

Of course, to many, Katakuri was still quite frightening, but for others, seeing him in regular T-shirts with a little child in his chest pocket made him seem much less threatening. Especially when they saw how he interacted with Luffy, who the villagers came to adore quickly. Seeing the big, fiersome, ex-pirate going trick or treating with an excited, mini dinosaur next to him, made the man seem so much less frightening.

Katakuri and Luffy still trained, but it wasn't for Luffy to become strong for anyone else, it was because Luffy wanted to be a strong pirate. So he had to master his Devil Fruit! And Katakuri was still learning to cook from some of the restaurants in town, trying to perfect the craft now that Luffy had no Pudding to cook him sweet things. The man knew Luffy missed Pudding the most.

Smoothie, Oven and Pudding's transponder snails were all at the house, but disconnected for the time being or time forward. Just in case some day Katakuri felt the desire to make contact with his former family. If he felt it was safe or worth it.

He truly missed nothing of being a Big Mom pirate or part of the Charlotte family. And he was extremely happy he didn't live in lands made of food anymore. If someone had told him that he'd abandon everything he'd known for a chance encounter he'd make with a child, he would have thought they were crazy.

He went from a powerful pirate commander with a record high bounty to basically a stay-at-home dad. And he was happy with that. The only thing similar to how his old life was that he was still helping to make the next Pirate King, though it was now a his son instead of his mother.

Luffy _would _be the pirate king, and Luffy would grow up knowing he was loved. And the feeling was returned as well, of course.

-The End-

**Can you imagine little Luffy dressed in a T-Rex costume, trick or treating with Katakuri? So cute! I hope you enjoyed the story! **


End file.
